Peace and Isolation
by McKnight2012
Summary: An undead god in need of a new body. A super-soldier lost in space. A rag-tag team of heroes. What do they have in common? They all are on a planet called "Equestria", where there is no war. But, as each of them are retrieved, old enemies follow to unleash hell. Can our favorite ponies hold out against them? Crossover with WH40k, MLP, Halo and ME. First fanfic, R&R please.
1. Prologue: In the Woods

Peace and Isolation: Rising Tide

(Halo-Mass Effect-MLP-WH 40k crossover)

**A/N:**_ Disclaimer. I do not own any of these (outside of this story, the OCs, and a few games). Halo is owned by 343 Industries. Mass Effect is owned by EA Games and Bioware. MLP:FiM is owned by Lauren Faust and Hasbro. And Warhammer 40k is owned by Gamers Workshop._

* * *

_This may be our birthplace, but we can't stay in the cradle forever." -Werner von Braun_

* * *

Prologue: In the Woods

"_As long as there is one man left to fight, and as long as our Emperor lives, we shall not go quietly into the abyss…"- Remembrancer Valernus, M.40. 891_

"_I can't believe he's dead." "Were it so easy." _

_- Lord Hood and the Arbiter, on the "death" of Spartan-117, end of "Halo 3"_

_ People have trouble understanding the mechanics of the multiverse. Understandable, considering how complex_ one_ universe can be on its own. _

_ A common misconception is the vastness of it. Since the average universe is in itself pretty empty, the Average Joe would believe the same thing applies to the multiverse: Large, large stretches of nothing between worlds. It's rather quite the opposite. The multiverse is jam-packed with different worlds, all bumping into each other like a mosh pit in a rave._

_ Likewise, people _think_ a wormhole is like a long tunnel connecting world-to-world. But, really, it's more like a little hole drilled between the walls of two or more universes. And, considering the permeable nature of the walls, these "portals" pop up as randomly as they please._

_ This is what led to the creation of the mini-multiverse that we live in today._

_ It started a long time ago, in the year 3'000 B.N. (Before Nightmare Moon), or 30'000 A.D., if you're from that human universe. In the human galaxy, the Emperor of Mankind had been mortally wounded during the Battle of Terra in the Horus Heresy, and His body was preserved and entombed on the Golden Throne. With His powers of Farsight, the Emperor saw the 10'000 years of slow decay that would befall Him and His people, the Imperium of Man. He could see every crime and defeat that would slowly destroy everything He had worked His almost eternal life for. And He was willing to do _anything_ to avoid it._

_ So, He sent out a psychic broadcast, desperately asking anyone (or anything) that was willing to help, to free Him from His prison._

_ Who could've possibly thought that an answer would be given by two young god-children, just ascended to the throne themselves?_

_ At this time, these young goddesses, Princesses Celestia and Luna, had just come into power in Equestria. These beings were alicorns, God-beings of the Ponies, undisputedly the kindest race in the multiverse._

_ They received the cryptic telepathic message from the Emperor; A galaxy torn by war, a species on the path to extinction, a God entombed and desperate to save them. Their hearts went out to Him, and they told Him they'd help._

_ After a long discussion, the sisters agreed on a solution: If they couldn't go and heal His old body, they'd make Him a new one on their world. Over the next several thousand years, the Princesses worked with the Emperor to make a new body, letting portions of his soul transfer over to "The Silver Tomb"._

_ In exchange, the Emperor counseled the sisters on Statesmanship: Uniting all three races of the Ponies, imprisoning Discord rather than killing him, and even the thousand-year banishment of Luna when she was possessed by Nightmare Moon. And its was a combination of His psyker power and Celestia's magic that freed Nightmare/Luna, and got the new Elements of Harmony together. _

_ However, not everything strange that happened here was His doing. 500 B.N. (or 983 A.D., if that's where you're from), a strange object appeared outside the star system, an object we now know as a "Mass Relay". Astronomers noticed it, and asked Celestia about it. The Princess went to the Emperor, and He couldn't identify it as Necron or Eldar make, the oldest races from His universe. When it didn't pose a threat, most ponies forgot about it._

_ Everything else happened as recorded on the now controversial "TV show" history of "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic". Everything, of course, until the second month after the Nightmare, when a discredited unicorn and a rejected griffon met up in a forest, and found something that would change their lives (and everyone else's) forever…_

* * *

"_She'll learn her lesson someday."  
- Twilight Sparkle, after Trixie ran out of Ponyville, during "Boast Busters"_

_Everfree forest, Equestria_

_2 months after Elements found_

_11:45 P.M. (local time)_

The once "Great and Powerful" Trixie ran through the forest, tears of embarrassment and shame going down her face.

It had only been 20 minutes since the Ursa Minor destroyed her mobile home, and the town rejected her. Only 20 minutes since that little purple unicorn saved the village, and proved conclusively (at least to Trixie, but probably to everypony else) that she was the best magician.

That she was… better than her.

She may not have known it, but Twilight Sparkle had shamed the blue unicorn, broke all shreds of ego, confidence, maybe even self-worth. It may seem a bit overdramatic, but if Trixie was anything (besides arrogant), it was dramatic. How else does a unicorn make a living as a _stage magician_ without a little _showmanship_?

Her run came down to a canter, then to a full stop. She sat down on a stump, her breath coming in moaning sobs. She cursed those stupid boy unicorns -_Who names their kids "Snips" and "Snails"?_ she thought angrily- who wanted to see her vanquish an Ursa Major. She cursed all those dumb mares, who thought they were better than her, and ended up losing every challenge presented.

But when it came to Twilight, Trixie found that she couldn't curse her. Out of all the ponies, _she_ was the only one who didn't challenge Trixie. She didn't think she was better. She didn't want to beat her. She may have even felt _sorry _for her. And with that thought, the tears came back harder than ever.

After what seemed like a long time, Trixie calmed down just enough to hear someone else crying. She looked around with bleary eyes, and walked in the direction of the sobbing.

In a nearby clearing, in the same state of woe that Trixie was just in, was a brown-and-white griffon.

Trixie couldn't know from a few feet away, and maybe it was normal for griffons, but this one in particular seemed pretty butch. A somewhat deep, rugged (yet still feminine) voice, large and muscular, boyish feather-do, all pointed to it being a male. But from what Trixie remembered from biology class long ago, only females had the white head, hence being butch.

Not that it mattered, for in this moment Trixie had sympathy for her as well. She didn't know her story, but clearly she had been through just as much crap as she had. Although she didn't know what compelled her, Trixie came to within 5 feet of the griffon, and asked, "Hey, what happened to you?"

The griffon looked up with reddened, yellow eyes, and saw the very azure unicorn wearing a purple star-covered cape and wizard hat, her face tear-streaked like her. They held eye contact for a beat, and the griffon asked in turn, "Did Pinkie Pie send you?"

"Who?" Trixie thought she had heard that name in town, but it didn't ring a bell.

"What about Rainbow Dash? Did she send you to talk to me?" The griffon sounded a little more hopeful then.

"You mean the arrogant blue Pegasus back in town?"

"Uh-huh."

Trixie sighed, and took a seat on a rock next to the stump. "She _definitely _didn't send me. Nor did any of her friends, not that they would want to, after what I did."

The griffon cocked her head, as if to get a better look at the unicorn. "What did _you_ do?"

"You know I asked you first."

The griffon sighed, then sniffed, and started her tale.

"Oh, I had just come into this lame-o town, looking for my old friend from flight school. I was thinking, 'Hey Gilda, it would be totally awesome to spend some time reminiscing and catching up with Rainbow Dash.' I go there, spend the night at her place, talking to the wee hours of the morning, have the best time I've had in years. But, lo and behold, she has other friends."

"This one in particular- Pinkie Pie, I think- just really, _really_ annoyed the hell out of me, trying to get in on our time. I let her know in no uncertain terms that while I was there, it would just be RD and me. Looking back, I probably could've handled it better. Even so, I kept my eye on her from then on."

"When she threw me a party, I was a bit suspicious, which, now looking back, was my downfall. Me being me, I had to go and do everything that would make me look cool, and by doing so had a whole bunch pranks go off on me. Naturally, I got pissed off, blamed that pink pony for everything. The hell of it was that all those pranks were set by Rainbow."

"She got mad at me, for calling her new friends uncool, and said that she… didn't want me around anymore. And stupid, stuck-up me, I couldn't bring myself to apologize, so I called her a 'flip-flopper' and 'uncool', and ran out. So now, I'm out here, in a forest, with no friends or family, only having myself to blame."

Gilda had held her composure up until the last part. When she paused, her voice creaked, the tears came. By the time she finished, she was fully back into weeping. Trixie reached out and patted the griffon's wings, the only thing she could do. "Hey, hey," She comforted, "It's not all that bad."

Gilda stood up, indignant. "How?" She demanded, towering over the unicorn. "How is it not that bad?"

"You lost a friend," Trixie countered, "But at least you had friends to begin with. I didn't."

Gilda again cocked her head, confused yet curious. Trixie, in turn, lowered hers. "I didn't have friends, just fans." She continued, telling her recent ordeal.

"I'm what you call a 'stage magician', arguably one of the best. The 'Great and Powerful' Trixie, I called myself. I traveled about, making a living going town to town, doing amazing tricks and pyrotechnics. I had everything I needed… until I came to Ponyville."

"In town, I already had something of a fan base, with these two stupid unicorn guys and other ponies. However, this group of mares had the idea that I was being a stuck-up showoff (which, honestly, I was). Naturally, I was offended, and I challenged them to beat me."

"An orange Earth pony did a couple of rope tricks, and I tied her up. Your pal Rainbow Dash did a couple of stunts, and I ended up spinning her into a tornado. This white unicorn manifested a beautiful dress out of nowhere, and I turned her hair green (that was pretty funny, actually). All the while, this little baby dragon was trying to convince this purple unicorn - Twilight Sparkle, I believe- to challenge and beat me. But every time I gave her the invitation, she'd back down and run away."

"I was on top of the world… until the Ursa Minor showed up."

"See, I made up this story about how I saved a town from an Ursa Major, to make myself look even more powerful than I actually was. Those dumb unicorns I mentioned earlier wanted to see me do it again, so they went to a cave and brought it into town. I tried to beat it the best way I could: tie it up, make a small thunderstorm to electrocute it, stuff like that. All it did was annoy it. I was certain we were all dead there."

"Then, out of nowhere, Twilight showed up. She was doing spells I've never seen before: causing wind to break reeds to make music, breaking a water tower and filling it with milk, and levitating both it and the Ursa Minor back into the forest. I saw her true power, and I realized that it was a good thing she never challenged me; there was no way I could've beaten her."

"Well, during the battle, the monster destroyed my house, shown me to be a fraud, and revealed who the best unicorn was. I knew the townsfolk were going to chase me out of town anyway, so I made one last boastful insult before making my getaway."

"So now, I'm here, sitting in a forest, no home, no way of supporting myself, telling my woes to you. The thing is, I may be mad at a lot of ponies -those boys, the mares, the townsfolk - Hay, even myself - But I can't be mad at Twilight. Out of all of them, she was the only modest one. The only one…who felt…_sorry for me._"

She held her composure longer than Gilda did, but her tears began falling halfway through the story, and at the end, her voice was nothing more than a hoarse squeak. Gilda wasn't very good with handling other people's emotions -hence her situation- but she understood Trixie's plight. She sighed, and mused, "Life's not easy for any of us, it seems."

The two of them sat in silence, listening to night sounds of the forests and a distant but growing roar far away. Gilda broke the silence. "You know what we should do?" She asked, to which Trixie could only shake her head. "Tomorrow, we should go back into town, and apologize to everypony about what we've done."

"Huh?" Trixie asked, confused. She didn't _actually _think that going back into town would be a good idea, did she?

"I know we've both done some stuff to make 'em all mad, but I've known ponies to be pretty forgiving about stuff like this. If we go back, and are genuinely sorry about what we've done, they'll take us back. It's as easy as one, two-"

She didn't finish, for the distant roar became much, _much _louder. Looking around, their eyes were drawn to the sky. Their jaws dropped to the ground at the sight. In the night sky, as bright as Luna's moon, was a shooting star. More than that, it was a bright red comet.

What made it different than other comets seen before was that they could _hear_ it. The roar was a cross between the sound of the ocean, a mighty dragon, and a constant, unending explosion. It streaked across the western horizon, heading to the distant seas in a slow, gentle motion.

"Whoa, that's pretty damn cool. Have you ever seen anything like that?"

"The Great and Powerful Trix- I mean, _I _have never seen anything like that. I don't think anyone but the Princesses have."

As the two outcasts watched, a new development appeared. The comet began breaking apart, turning into a huddled mass of starry debris. They could hear a distant boom, indicating an explosion of some kind. But then they saw the strangest part: one bit of debris wasn't heading with the rest of the crowd. It had turned away, and steadily got brighter.

They realized in terror that the object was heading _straight_ for them. Paralyzed by the wonder and fear, they held their spots as the thing got brighter and closer, and the air got warmer all around them. The distant roar became an unbearable blare, making them cover their ears as the thing entered the atmosphere.

Just before the object got to them, the griffon had enough mind to jump onto the unicorn, and hide behind the stump and rock. The burning object flew overhead, extremely loud and incredibly close. The air around them turned briefly into a furnace, actually singing their coats and clothes.

A hundred yards away, the thing landed with a mighty boom, felt just as much as heard. It dug into the ground, digging a trench that went most of a mile before stopping next to a rocky outcropping. The outside metal was so hot from re-entry that parts of the forest actually caught on fire.

The griffon and unicorn huddled in the shelter for most of a minute, before risking a glance up to see if they were still alive. Indeed they were in prefect shape, minus the slight singeing of manes and feathers. They chuckled nervously as they realized they just survived… whatever the hell that was.

They also realized quickly that Gilda was still over Trixie in a very suggestive position. They got off each other, again with the nervous laughter. Trixie was grateful no one saw that awkward moment. Gilda thought back as how this wasn't the first time she'd been over a girl like that (or a pony, for that matter).

"What the hay was that?" Trixie finally asked, as she looked down the trench to the fallen hulk.

"Don't know. Let's go find out."

Together, the two outcasts walked to the wreckage, past the burning trees and the ground-turned-to-glass.

The object itself was a completely metallic structure, easily bigger than any building in Ponyville. It may have been originally rectangular, but the re-entry took off all the pointy parts of it, making it well-rounded. A large, gaping hole opened a section, allowing the pair to enter.

A small generator must've still been running, as occasional sparks and emergency lights were still flickering on and off. It gave the place a further unnatural, creepy vibe- not that it didn't have one already. The wreck had landed almost level, but walking the corridors was still uphill and difficult. When the lights finally gave out, Trixie activated a light spell with her horn, leading the way into the center of the wreck.

After wandering around for a couple of minutes, the pair entered a large room labeled _Cryo_ _Storage_.

"Why would they need a room for crying?" The Griffon asked aloud. "What are they, a bunch of big babies?"

"I don't think the makers of this were babies." Trixie said, matter-of-fact in light of this discovery. "'Cryo' is a scientific word for ice, or cold. We must be in something like a freezer or something." She pointed to one of the several drab containers around a central podium thingy. "It might have some food or stuff inside. Check it out."

It sounded like an order to Gilda, but Trixie herself went to the container. The front of the giant box was made of some kind of glass, but was heavily covered in dust and soot, so she couldn't see more than a vague shape inside.

She stood on her hind hooves, her full four-foot frame reaching out and wiping of the dust. Looking inside, she let out a small gasp of surprise.

The container held a massive suit of green and black armor, the chest plate at eye level to the mare. She wiped off more dust, and with Gilda's help she got a full picture of the suit. The thing would've stood around seven feet tall, and was bipedal. The suit looked like it was made for someone strong and athletic, based on its general shape. The whole suit, although battle-scarred, appeared seamless and perfect.

The one eerie thing about it was the helmet. It had an orange glass plate covering its face, completely polarized so you couldn't see inside. But when the girls looked at it, though, they felt like there was something (or someone) looking back at them.

"What is this thing?" Gilda asked, awestruck and a little fearful. This thing, for some reason, was one of the few things in the world that actually intimidated her.

Trixie looked around the storage unit, and found what looked like a control panel. She read aloud some of the specifics.

" **'Sierra-117, Master Chief Petty Officer. Status: Inactive, all conditions normal. Emergency Beacon activated. Date: Aug. 19, 2553**.' Huh, I wonder what it all means?"

"Do you know anyone that can figure this out?"

"Not sure. The Princesses, maybe. Perhaps we could send one of them a message about this, if they don't already know."

"Maybe we could take this thing to 'em."

Trixie smiled, an idea growing in her head. "Yeah. And you know what? By us making this discovery, the Princesses will have to give us a bunch of honors and money and stuff for it. We'll be national heroes!"

Gilda laughed. "I like the sound of that!"

* * *

Over the next several days, the unicorn and the griffon set about salvaging the wreck. Gilda would collect all the trinkets and objects inside, and Trixie would categorize and catalogue them from least to most interesting. They worked feverishly, certain that this job would be their path to redemption and fame.

Every now and then, they would go to the main road, checking in on the wider world. One passing traveler told them that a massive comet that had crashed in the western sea, causing a large and destructive tidal wave. The pair figured it was from the large bulk of the wreck.

They also heard of all the adventures held in Ponyville, and had pangs of jealousy and regret. They didn't want to admit it, but they still wanted to be there, with their friends and ponies that rejected them. It was why they worked so hard; So they could be worthy of forgiveness.

On the fourth night, they attempted to get the container out. While fiddling to loosen it, two things happened. First, a small blue chip ejected itself from the central pedestal. Secondly, the computer warned them about not messing with the pod, as it may malfunction and fail, "terminating" the contents.

The pair took the chip -as it could've been important- and ignored the warning. Surely there was nothing _alive _in that thing. It was just a suit of armor, nothing more.

Unscrewing the thing from the floor, they began the long process of getting it off the wreck. Trixie used a lot of her power to levitate the object in the air, while Gilda flew and guided it through the corridors and rooms. The container had the maneuverability of a rock on fixed wheels, and bumped into a wall every 30 seconds.

After 2 long and laborious hours, the outcasts finally got out with their prize. "Damn," Gilda declared, "This thing is frickin' _heavy_." "I swear," Trixie hissed, "The Princesses better pay out for this stuff."

"Pay out for what, my little pony?" A voice inquired. The griffon and unicorn looked up, and were immediately on their knees in instant respect and watered-down fear.

Princess Luna, Goddess of the Night and co-ruler of Equestria, had arrived unnoticed and unannounced. She still hadn't obtained any staff or guards, but that allowed her to go anywhere she wanted with stealth and silence. Like the undiscovered crash site of an alien ship, for example.

Luna was tall; not as tall as her older sister Celestia, but still head and shoulders above the common herd. Her coat of midnight blue blended perfectly with the darkness around her, and her mane and tail blew gently in the cosmic wind, sparkling like the nighttime sky. Her teal eyes looked upon the scene with amused curiosity, and a gentle smile was on her face.

She didn't _look_ imposing or all-powerful, but she didn't have to. The events with Nightmare Moon were still prevalent and fresh in the minds of Equestrians.

"P-P-Princess," Trixie stammered, "What're y-you doing h-here?"

"Oh," Luna said casually, walking towards them, "We are here to see what may have been left here from the comet a few nights before. We are quite sure thou hast seen it, everypony in Equestria did."

She did a once-over of all the stuff they had collected. It was quite extensive. Luna's smile grew a little. "It doth seem that thou hast been busy, hasn't thee?"

"Why, yes we have, Princess." Gilda answered, a little put off that Luna was talking in some old, archaic dialect of Equish. "We've been… studying the wreckage, to see if there would be anything worth - I mean- worthy of you or your sister's interest."

"There may be something," Luna mused, still looking over everything, "There may be something." Mentally, she had already written them off as losers and charlatans (at least, that's what Celestia had informed her about them from Twilight's letters). Furthermore, the technology here, although probably quite advanced and helpful, wasn't what Equestria needed right now, and would probably go in one of Canterlot's basements, along with any other weird and bizarre thing that ended up on this world. Kind of a waste, really, but as the Emperor told them many years ago, _Keep your subjects in ignorant bliss while you can, for once you leave the cradle your world, they'll never know true peace again_.

Then her eyes fell upon the giant container. She had walked passed the still kneeling duo, and gazed upon the figure inside. There was something familiar about it. Bipedal, athletic-looking, encased in armor…

_Encased in armor?!_

The goddess's eyes went wide with recognition and surprise. Although she couldn't be sure about it just yet, one phrase popped into her head, echoing around like in a deep cave.

_Space Marine. There's a Space Marine in Equestria._

She looked back at the wannabe treasure hunters, who were about to get up. Luna didn't give them a chance, as she made her eyes glow and used her Royal Canterlot Voice.

"TRIXIE LULAMOON AND GILDA OF RAVENPOINT!" She shouted, sending the girls back to cowering. She didn't want to do this, but she needed to give the importance of what she had to say. Using her wings, she held herself high in the air above them, and her horn summoned a mini thunderstorm for dramatic effect.

"Y-yes, your majesty?" Trixie whimpered. Why was she yelling at them? Had she gone evil again?

"YOU HAVE DONE A GREAT SERVICE TO YOUR PRINCESSES AND YOUR NATION! THIS PARTICULAR ITEM HOLDS CONSIDERABLE IMPORTANCE TO ME AND MY SISTER! BUT BEFORE WE CAN TAKE THIS RELIC, WE MUST GO TO CANTERLOT TO OBTAIN SECURITY FOR PROPER ESCORT!"

"THERFORE, WE ARE ENTRUSTING THEE FOR WATCHING OVER ALL THESE COLLECTIVE ITEMS UNTIL WE RETURN! THOU CAN WATCH OVER AND PROTECT THESE TRINKETS, CAN'T THOU?"

"Um… yes?"

"EXCELLENT. WE SHALL RETURN ON THE 'MORROW! FARE THEE WELL!"

Then, with a bright flash of light, the Princess of the Night teleported back to Canterlot, leaving Gilda and Trixie scared and befuddled.

Early in the morning, as Celestia was raising the sun, Luna came to her and told her sister of the discovery in the forest. Realizing the implications, the sun goddess gathered a group of royal guards to go secure the sight. Luna went with them, watching over the whole operation, while Celestia had to take a quick detour to Ponyville.

She was supposed to have a party in her honor there, but because of the unforeseen developments in the forest (and local issues with a parasprite infestation), she convinced Twilight Sparkle and her friends that she had to go to Fillydelphia for something. The parasprites that entered the site were quickly atomized by Luna's night-magic. Loathsome creatures, parasprites were; they ate everything and were quite disgusting, like locusts.

When Celestia finally got to the site, everything was already collected. The Princesses used a substantial teleportation spell to take all the items, guards and local outcasts back to the capital. Later on, the wreckage was blown apart and buried, so nopony would ever find out.

* * *

The next day, while Trixie and Gilda stayed in a royal suite, Celestia and Luna took the container (which they had also turned into stone, keeping it frozen just in case the human inside was still alive), and teleported themselves to the lowest level of the castle's basement. This level hadn't been used in over a thousand years (by mortals), and was only known to the Princesses. _This_ level, if it were properly named, would be called "The Silver Tomb".

The three of them appeared in its largest room, the most important by far.

In the middle of the room was a massive bed, lined with magic-saturated, life-giving silver. It was 12 feet by 6 feet, big enough for a dozen ponies (or both the sisters). But it didn't hold any pony.

Lying in the bed, surrounded by a golden aura, was a 9-foot tall giant of a man. Most of his body was covered in a white cloak, but his face and hands, which weren't covered, would've been called absolutely perfect. The only flaw he had were his eyes: they hadn't been finished yet, and glowed with a brilliant golden light.

Here lay the unfinished body of the God-Emperor of Mankind.

_Greetings, 'Tia and Luna,_ The god said telepathically, His body not operational yet. _I see that you've brought a guest today._

The sisters smiled, always happy to be with their oldest friend, impressed everyday by His developing visage and form. Celestia was probably the tallest pony in Equestria (around 6 feet at the top of her head, 7 feet with her horn), yet she always felt small when near Him. Whatever bright aura that she could manifest around her was nothing to what the constant golden light He made. And while their magic was usually more complicated and intricate, He had enough power and experience to do everything they've ever done a thousand times over.

Yet He had never once been boastful, arrogant or hard to be around. He never raised His voice to them, and handled even the most painful parts of their work with grace and patience. He seemed to have the nicest, kindest personality they've ever known. The very definition of good, as it were.

"Indeed we have, Adam." Celestia told Him, referring to the Emperor's birth-name (He was their friend, not their leader. Why would they call Him _their_ Emperor?), "I was hoping you'd be able to identify him for us, if you'd be so kind."

The Princess of the Sun levitated the pod to within the Emperor's eyesight, and held it there. They could feel the other god look upon it, going through His massive memory banks. After a minute, the Emperor's response was both satisfied and unfulfilled, confused and curious.

_Hmm._

"Doest thou recognize him, Adam?" Luna inquired, still used to talking in the old Equestrian dialect. Being stuck on the moon for a thousand years does that.

_I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with this one._ He apologized. _I can say that, while human, this man is neither Imperial Guard nor Adeptus Astartes._

The sisters exchanged a surprised look. Usually their old friend had an answer for everything. He had been alive for almost 50'000 years, after all. Why was He drawing a blank now? "Are you sure he's not a newer variation or something?" Celestia couldn't think of anything else to say.

_I admit, there are some similarities. The color scheme is akin to the Guard, and the armor is along parallel lines with the Marines. However, Guardsmen don't wear full body suits, and this one doesn't have the proper musculature for any Legion. Not to mention the armor itself has more circuitry in it than anything outside a tech-priest. Remember, I'm still fully aware of all operations of my Imperium, and I'd recognize him as Inquisition work or a Forge-world prototype._

"Of course. We've never doubted thy word on th…_your_ people." Luna caught herself from saying "thy" twice. Again, she's learning. And, if anything, it _was _Adam's idea to try learning the modern vernacular, as complicated as it was.

_Pray tell, where did you find this one?_

"In the partial wreckage of that starship we told you about." Celestia put in. Adam observed over the millennia that Celestia always had to appear right or knowledgeable, even if that occasionally meant showing-up her sister. _Must be a sibling thing,_ Adam mused inwardly, so they couldn't hear Him. He wouldn't know about that, as He was an only child; His spirit was created in 8'000 B.C., when the souls of humanity's last shamans had combined in the Warp to form one eternal guardian for Mankind. That doesn't really leave room in the womb for other kids, before or after birth.

Returning to the conversation, Adam continued, _Ah, yes. Quite interesting. I'm surprised he managed to survive the crash, even with suspended animation. He must be quite the lucky one, almost like a Space Marine._

"I'd say. Destiny has definitely marked this one."

_Also, what is the date of this warrior?_

"The container said the year 2553."

_Strange. We didn't have Cryo storage or full body armor like this way back then._ He was quiet for a second, and then continued, _You know, I'm not sensing any residual magic or Warp energy on him. I don't think he's from either of our universes._

"You mean he's another Outsider? Like the Object beyond the moon?"

_Quite so, although I'm not sure that he is from same world as that thing. I believe it's quite possible that we may have become some sort of magnet for the multiverse, collecting all kinds of lost things._

"Regardless, you wouldn't mind if we placed him with you here, would you?"

_Not at all. It gets quite lonely down here sometimes._ This was accompanied by a chuckle, which all three gods joined in. Gods in general are used to loneliness, and learn to make due with any companionship they can find in their immortal years.

_One more thing, _The Emperor continued, _Who were the ones to find this man?_

"T'was Gilda of Ravenpoint and Trixie Lulamoon," Luna answered, "Two outcasts from the town of Ponyville."

Celestia remained silent. Brooding, pouty silent, not nothing-to-say-on-the-subject silent.

_Something troubling you, 'Tia?_ The Emperor inquired. He always called her by her pet name, rather than her full name or "Celly", as her sister did.

"These two have had… _interesting_ interactions with my star pupil and the Elements of Harmony."

_Have they, now?_ Somehow, the Emperor found this quite intriguing.

"Yes," Celestia answered hesitantly. "The Griffon had almost broken their friendship, and the unicorn had harassed them and almost destroyed the town. And when I came in to collect the unit here, they were arrogant enough to ask for a reward."

_Mortals are like that, sometimes. Although you always gave me the impression that most of your people were beyond that._

"In fairness," Luna put in, "They did seem repentant, and also wanted to apologize to the girls afterward, if given the chance."

_Fine. Do they have any talents?_

The Princesses were unsure why their old friend was taking an interest in these two. "Gilda is one of the fastest flyers in the world, and Trixie does have quite a bit of magical talent. She said she used to be a stage magician or something like that."

Again, the Emperor was quiet, contemplating. After a moment, he told them his idea. When he finished, Celestia deadpanned, "You're joking, right?"

_I rarely joke, 'Tia. You know that._

She sighed. "I guess I can see the logic in your plan. I'm just not sure if Twilight and her friends will be happy about it."

_They don't need to know about it. Not until everything is done and ready._

Celestia began building power for a teleportation spell. "I'll make the necessary arrangements, then."

_Of course. Please keep me posted._

The room got brighter as the spell began to activate, an aura growing around the sisters.

_Oh, and Luna._

The Goddess of the Night looked back at the God of Humanity.

_It's good to have you back._

Perhaps it was the growing light, but He could've sworn Luna's cheeks became a little red.

"It's… good to be back, Adam." She smiled and sounded like the little filly he first met thousands of years ago.

In a bright flash, the Princesses were gone, leaving the Emperor with the frozen warrior.

_Well, Luna was acting a little strange there._ He thought humorously, chuckling to himself. _I wonder if she… No, she wouldn't. We've known each other since she was a child. I'm practically a father to her. She wouldn't be-_

Before He could dwell further on the subject, He received the battle reports of Medusa V back on Terra. He returned His massive soul's attention to this, and went back to work on the chair.

* * *

The plan, simply put, was to reward the outcasts.

First, they were made to never speak of what they found. National Security reasons, they understood. Couldn't give away top secrets to spies and stuff, right?

Second, they were given a house in Canterlot, and a pension for "Aiding the Princesses" (AKA hush money, to not brag to everypony they meet).

Third, because of their talents, they were entered into the elite groups to learn and train. Gilda trained with the Wonderbolts, the best fliers in Equestria. Trixie went under Luna's tutelage, learning all the finer points of Illusion and Conjuration (Night Magic).

Finally, they were not allowed to talk or interact with Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash or their friends. Steps were taken to ensure this; RD was never accepted into the Wonderbolts, even when she could pull off a Sonic Rainboom on demand (as Gilda was an honorary member), Twilight hardly ever saw Celestia or Luna (as they were teaching Trixie), and neither of the duo were allowed to go to the Grand Galloping Gala (all the Mane Six were there) or any other major social event (Rarity was in Canterlot often, selling her various clothing lines).

For almost two years, even after the Discord Incident, Trixie and Gilda didn't leave Canterlot. They trained and worked, waiting for the day they could go back to Ponyville. They continued to hear of their exploits of the Elements, and felt regret eat away at them for missing out on the action.

_One day,_ They promised, _We will go back. We will make amends, we will redeem ourselves. One day, we shall be forgiven._

What they didn't know, however, was that the day they would go back to Ponyville would be the day their world would start changing forever…


	2. 1 VIPs, God Figures and Redmption

**A/N: I can honestly say I'm really happy about the attention this story is getting. While crossovers between these worlds have been done before, I hope that this story will be unique enough to entertain everyone. The biggest thing, I think, about being a fanfic writer is about trying new and different forms of storytelling. If it works, then we have added something amazing to our respected fandoms. And if it fails, at least we can say that we tried something different, and that there is no growth without trial and error.**

**And now, back into the action...**

Chapter 1: VIPs, Deities and Redemption

* * *

"_In the Grim Darkness of the Far Future, there is only War…" -WH40K Intro_

_Year M.42.001 (11'000 years after Horus Heresy)_

_Solar System, Imperium of Man_

_Above Holy Terra, onboard **Emperor's Wrath** (Dreadnaught)_

_Thought of the day: From the smallest point of Light, Hope springs forth._

Miles below, in the mountain range once called the Himalayas, was the Imperial Palace, heart of the Imperium. In the depths of the Palace was the Golden Throne, which held the physical remains of the Emperor, Heart of all Humanity. While His body decayed, and His machine began to falter, His soul stayed trapped in His mortal form to guide mankind through its darkest hours.

Or so it was thought.

But now Inquisitor Creighton and every Astropath in the galaxy knew otherwise.

Approximately one Terran week ago, the Emperor broadcasted a message through the Astronomicon, which was sent out to every Astropath and Astral Choir, onboard every ship in the Imperium. The message was this:

_Children of Humanity, do not be afraid. This is your Emperor speaking. Hear my words and take heed, for I bring news of great joy for all Mankind._

_ While my body on Terra has fallen to Entropy, I have found a way to avoid my eventual death. In the 10'000 years that I have been imprisoned, I have made contact with the Gods of a race of xenos unlike any I've ever experienced. These beings- who have reached out to me not with deceit or malice, but with peace and friendship- have helped me create a new body for me to inhabit._

_ And now, my body is almost ready._

_ I am requesting one ship -**one** ship, not an entire fleet, as you will want to do- to come and pick me up in my new form. The coordinates and path through the Immaterium are being given to every Astral Choir receiving this message. I await your arrival, Children of Mankind._

Now, Inquisitor Mendel Creighton, along with everyone else in the Inquisition, originally believed that it was a hoax; a lie by Tezeentch, the Chaos God of Magic, to lead humanity into a false hope. The one thing that proved that theory wrong was this:_ Every Single_ Astropath in the _Galaxy_ had the same message, sent via the Astronomicon. Only the Emperor himself could do something like that, on that magnitude.

When the message was proven to be genuine, this led to another problem: _Every_ available starship was volunteering to find the God-Emperor. Creighton sighed and rubbed his head, remembering the process of selecting this particular ship out of the thousands that offered. He'd rather fight off a horde of Orks than go through that again.

The Inquisitor stood about 5'9, with gray hair and dark green eyes. He wore the typical uniform for an Inquisitor Xeno, which always involved having a cape and a small adamantium sword. He had served in the Inquisition for many years, and it was his excellent record dealing with unconventional alien threats that made him perfect for the job.

After looking out the starboard window one last time, he decided to make his way to the bridge. He walked past several miles of long, winding corridors of the massive ship, past various servitor machines and slave workers who constantly maintain the ship, and past several tech-priests and soldiers who kept the workers under command.

In time, he entered the bridge, where every other VIP onboard was.

There was the captain of the vessel, Capt. Andromeda Lema, who was a veteran of Medusa V. Her graying hair and wrinkled face proudly held her 104 years of service (and, having been part of the Rogue Traders, she didn't have to be fused to the control chair to keep the ship running). Over by the control panels was Magos Kriel, the ship's representative of the Ordo Mechanicus. As with most senior members of his order, the cyborg was now more machine than man, bearing his new form in honor of the Omnissiah and the tech god.

Conversing in a corner were the three military leaders of the mission: Lieutenant Konrad Osburran of the Imperial Guardsmen (12th Cadian Regiment), Captain Gideon of the Imperial Fists (5th Company), and Captain Numitor of the Ultramarines (8th Reserve Company). Although all of them had the feel of veterans, the Space Marines stood above the crowd both figuratively (hundreds of years of fighting) and literally (standing 8-feet tall). Although the Emperor didn't ask for escorts, no one would dare collect Him undefended. So, a small taskforce was made, with a regiment of Guardsmen, and 2 Chapters from the most elite Space Marine Legions, to go along for the pickup.

"Captain Lema," The Inquisitor addressed as he entered,"What is the status of the ship?"

"Everything," Lema replied, "Is at 100% efficiency, Inquisitor. The Astral Choir is ready and eager to begin our quest."

"The machine spirits," Magos Kriel droned in his robot voice, "Are satisfied and content, and have all systems ready."

"The 12th Cadian Regiment," Lt. Konrad announced, "Have readied their souls for this."

"The Sons of Dorn and Gulliman," Declared Gideon, speaking of the Imperial Fists and Ultramarines respectively, "Are prepared for receiving our Emperor."

"Excellent," Creighton said, "Then let's depart." He sat down in one of the command chairs, very much reminding everyone who was in charge (the Inquisition are basically given as much political authority as needed for anything, below only the Emperor Himself). "Onward and out, for the Emperor."

"For the Emperor!" The shout rang out throughout the ship, as the Warp engines began to activate. Slowly, the dreadnaught moved out of orbit, moving in the direction of deep space. Reality itself began to ripple around the ship, as it began to enter the Immaterium.

The engines built up, reaching the required level to break through to the Warp. Then, a large jagged rip of pinkish light tore in front of the starship. The _Emperor's Wrath_ passed right into it, steady as you please. When the whole thing entered, the rip in space closed back up again.

And so began the ship's journey through the Warp, the Realm of Chaos. For in the Warhammer-verse, to go anywhere (even the supposed "heaven" in which the Emperor was), you had to go through Hell first…

* * *

"_Sir, (I'm) finishing this fight." -John-117, "Halo 2"_

"'_They say that 'Spartans never die'. If only that were true." _

_-Dr. Katharine Halsey, Creator of the Spartan IIs _

_June 17, 2570 A.D._

_E. Eridani, over Reach_

_UNSC **Road not Taken **(**Marathon**-class Frigate)_

The atmosphere onboard was both excited and restrained. All crewmembers were eager to embark upon what was arguably the most important mission since the end of the war: The Retrieval of the Master Chief.

For Master Sergeant Alan Vasquez, the whole damn situation seemed to reek of Cosmic Irony.

18 years ago, on the very planet the _Road not Taken_ was over, Humanity (and the Spartans) fought one of the last great battles of the Human-Covenant War. Humanity lost, and the Spartan was taken with the _Pillar of Autumn_, making a blind jump to the Halo. That set up a chain of events leading to the Battle of New Mombasa, the Covenant Civil War, the Battle of the Arc, and the Eradication of the Flood. The Master Chief was lost, left behind in the back half of the _Forward unto Dawn_ when the last Ring activated. His sacrifice saved the galaxy, and they could only honor him in memory.

Until now.

About two months ago, listening outposts at the edge of UNSC space picked up on an emergency distress beacon. A beacon listed as the _Forward unto Dawn_.

Finally, the mortal remains of the Master Chief were located.

The only catch was that it was apparently in one of the most distant and dangerous sections of the galaxy: A place called "The Tempest", or "Wild Space". Dangerously close to the galactic core, awfully close to the Covenant Remnant, loads of Slipspace anomalies to tear ships to pieces. No problem, right?

So now, from the place where Spartans began, an expedition was being prepared to get the greatest (and last) of them back home.

Somehow, the situation felt a little like déjà vu to Vasquez, even though he hadn't been serving during the war. _Hell,_ He thought, _We even have the same aliens coming along._

That was the one last caveat to this mission: This wasn't a human-only venture.

Upon the discovery of the Chief, the Combined Allied Republics (CAR), the political organization for all the Covenant Separatist races, offered one of their ships to tag along. A token of goodwill, to honor the human who saved and freed them from the lies of the Prophets. Figuring it would help better relations, the brass of the UNSC accepted.

So, that was why the _Road not Taken_ was in orbit along with the CAR cruiser _Eternal Judgment_. And also why Vasquez was eating and chit-chatting with an old Sanghelli comrade in the ship's cafeteria, along with all the other human, Jiralhanae, Uggnoy and Kig-Yar troops and envoys.

"Ah, Alan my friend," The Elite, Commander N'tho Vaddum reminisced, "Remember that little skirmish we had on Crysis a few years back?"

"Yeah," Vasquez returned in his southern drawl, "And Ah had to save you from that Berserk Brute?"

"As I recall," N'tho countered, "_You_ just took my kill, and _I_ had to save you from being devoured by that swarm of Hame'e."

"Nuh-uh. Those Drones were a bunch of pussies."

"'Yeah-huh'. There were thirty of them, and you had been needled in the arm."

"That was just a flesh wound."

"Wasn't what the medic said. It was the first time I saw a human vomit and not have it be alcohol-related."

A Brute Captain sitting next to them laughed boisterously. "You two both forget," The Jiralhanae boasted, "_I_ saved _both_ of you when I blew that Infected Mekgolo up with my cannons."

"Yeah, yeah, Cassius," Vasquez conceded, "You had your moment in the limelight. We all did."

Alan, Cassius and N'tho had all met up 5 years ago on planet Caldari. The Jiralhanae world -one of the few Brute worlds that left the Covenant- was attacked and infected by the Covenant Remnant and the Flood, and the civvies had to be evacuated. During the battle, the three of them developed an uncommon friendship (at least in this day and age), and were looking forward to having another mission together.

Alan was only 9 years old when the Covenant was finally destroyed, and was part of the first generation that knew of aliens, but not of war. Raised on one of the few farms still left in the old state of Kentucky, he was raised as right as could be done in a postwar, futuristic setting. He stood 6'1, had yellow-brown eyes, and if he hadn't shaved his head would've had auburn hair. His face looked nice, except for a long scar on the left side of his face, given to him when a spike grenade gave him a quick peck.

N'tho and Cassius were fellow commanders in the CAR, and had worked together even back during the days of the old order. They had the good fortune to be in one of the few multi-species units that, when the Schism occurred, didn't collapse and kill each other. As the military got reformed afterward, they got promotions (N'tho got his red armor, became a Commander; Cassius got gold armor, became a Captain), but they kept in touch. Point being, they were cool with humans and their style, and had no issue fraternizing with one. Somehow, the three of them made the perfect team, actually single-handedly held off a Flood Horde for 2 hours, long enough to get that FOB on Crysis evacuated, and make them decorated soldiers.

"So," Cassius asked after they finished eating, "Does anyone know where _exactly_ the Chief is at?"

"Last I checked," N'tho answered, "He appeared to be responding either next to or inside a Slipspace anomaly."

"Wait," Vasquez interrupted, "Wait, we're going _into_ a Slipspace anomaly? A freakin' tear in space-time, with no guarantee of gettin' in or gettin' out?"

"When you put it that way, it sounds slightly _less_ dangerous than visiting a Halo Ring."

"Hey, Ah just want to go back to Earth when we're done, is all."

"I know. You always say how lovely it is this time of year. I would like to see it one day, too."

"Likewise," Cassius put in, "You humans have the best booze I've ever drank. What was that drink you gave us after Crysis, from your hometown?"

"_Jack Daniels?"_

"Yes, yes, _Daniels_. Best I've ever had."

"Attention, crew and passengers." A feminine voice interrupted over the intercom (the ship's A.I., Juno). "We are preparing to make a slipspace jump in approximately 5 minutes. Please report to your designated cabins."

"Wort!" N'tho spat, "The hangar is on the other side of the ship. We'll never make it back in time."

"No worries," Vasquez told them, "The two guys for mah cabin caught some local disease on Reach, so they couldn't come. You could take their spots."

The aliens exchanged a look. "You sure that's a good idea?" N'tho commented. "It's a five-day trip."

"If you can sprint a mile through windin' corridors in under five minutes, be mah guest."

"Four minutes, thirty seconds." People around them began leaving, heading to their cabins. N'tho and Cassius were still uncertain. Vasquez sweetened the deal.

"Ah still have that old bottle and some flip music."

Cassius perked up. N'tho sighed, acknowledging defeat. Booze and modern rock seemed to be the way to win over most races, these days.

"Very well, human. Lead the way."

Four minutes later, while the three amigos began their first night of the cruise, the engines of the frigate turned to 100%, activating the Slipspace engine. In cadence with the CAR cruiser, they entered slipspace in dual orbs of bright light.

As they passed from one dimension to another, N'tho sighed inwardly, looking forward to a week of a tiny (for an Elite) bed, loud music, and drunken singing. But that's was what friends were for, right?

* * *

"_They called it a suicide mission. We proved them wrong." -Cmdr. Shepard, on the mission to the Omega 4 Relay._

_September 4th, 2285_

_Galactic Center, near destroyed Collector Base_

(Normandy,_ Cerberus vessel_)

It seemed that no matter how hard Matt Shepard tried, the universe kept on piling on the shit.

The Mission in itself went off without a hitch: No one died, the "baby" human Reaper was destroyed, and the Collector base was purged of life. The crew had saved the galaxy once again, and was about to head back home.

Then they discovered the two _other_ Collector bases.

And then the starfighters showed up.

So now, here he was again; ship under attack, crew in mortal danger, light-years from any possible help. Just like the first time he died.

He _definitely _didn't want to go through that again.

"Joker!" He shouted to the pilot over the radio, "Get us the hell outta here!" Shepard and his team had just got back on the ship, and he was trying to get up to the CIC. The fact that the ship kept shaking violently from the hits on the shields didn't help at all.

"I'm trying, Commander!" Joker snapped, "But those fighters are everywhere, and there's more junk here than an Omega strip club!"

"The Mass Relay we came here on has been blocked." EDI, the ship's AI, put in. "However, there appears to be another Relay on approach."

"I take it that it hasn't been opened before?" Shepard asked as he boarded the elevator.

"This is beyond the Omega 4 Relay. _Everything_ is new and unopened."

"Can we reach it?"

"If we don't get blown apart, then yes."

"Then go for it."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Joker quipped, and began angling the ship to the mass relay. The _Normandy_ nimbly maneuvered around debris of destroyed ships and rocks, evading their attackers. When objects became too big, the Thanix cannon fired, blowing it apart.

The elevator opened up, and Shepard dashed across the CIC, to the front where Joker was. All the crew, who had just been rescued from the Collectors only a few hours ago, had gone back to the rhythm of work as if nothing happened, a testament to their skill and bravery. He reached the cockpit as Joker and EDI were busy tapping away at controls, blowing away smaller bits of debris.

Shepard looked out the window, and gazed upon the approaching Mass Relay. It was in many ways similar to the Omega 4 Relay: Larger than most, surrounded by wreckage, kinda foreboding, that kind of stuff. The only difference was that the Element Zero core on Omega glowed orange, while this one was pink (still different, as most Relays were blue).

"Starting our run," Joker reported, "Launching in ten seconds."

The ship was almost at the Relay. One last swarm of fighters had come right on their tail.

"Five seconds!"

A pinkish string of energy had reached out and encompassed the ship. The fighters launched their missiles simultaneously, hoping to destroy it before it got away.

"Launching now!"

With a mighty "pitchoo!" the _Normandy_ was launched at FTL speeds to its unknown destination. The missiles passed by too late, exploding impotently on space junk.

Those on the _Normandy_ breathed a sigh of relief, avoiding death for the umpteenth time. Shepard, however, had other concerns.

"EDI, when are we going to reach our new destination?"

"Calculations put us at around three days, give or take an hour."

"Great," Shepard said, "It'll give us time to repair and heal up."

"Yeah, sure." Joker deadpanned. "Never mind the fact that the Collectors are right behind us, and we have no idea where we're going."

"Wouldn't be the first time we've been without a paddle."

Joker shook his head in resignation.

Shepard then went back to the elevator. He was going to check up on the rest of the team before retiring to his cabin.

Everyone was well and accounted for. Mordin was in his lab, analyzing all the new data gathered from the base. Jacobs was repairing and rearming all their weapons and equipment. Thane and Samara were both praying to their respective gods, giving thanks. Miranda and Tali were more than friendly, looking forward to another good night with Shepard, now that the mission was complete. Grunt and Jack were both "chilling" in the garage, having done most of the action. Legion stayed in the AI room, repairing any computer damage that may have occurred. And Garrus…

Shepard's Turian friend was in the med bay, fixing a broken arm. He took a nasty shot from a Collector beam gun, but fortunately didn't lose his hand. He seemed in good enough spirits when Shepard came in.

"If I didn't know better, Garrus," Shepard told him, "I'd think you were going out collecting scars _on purpose._"

"Yeah," The alien retorted, "Scars make everyone look 20% cooler. But you already knew that." He was referring to the facial scars that Shepard had the first few weeks after being brought back from Project Lazarus and later lost (which was good, because it looked like he had a red spider web glued to his face).

Garrus, however, had an interesting design to his scar. By a byproduct of beam shot, medi-gel and stitches, it looked like a cloud and lightning bolt combo. Hell, some weird chemical reaction in the lightning bolt made it turn into a red-blue-yellow rainbow on his skin. Shepard had never seen anything like it, but it seemed kinda cool (in a girly kind of way).

"You know, if you want, we do have some cosmetic tools onboard. We can get rid of it for you."

"No, don't do that!" Garrus replied rather quickly. "I like it. It reminds me of… an old friend."

The way he hesitated made Shepard a tad suspicious, but just as quickly he wrote it off. Probably an old comrade or flame, something irrelevant now.

"Well, hang in there, buddy." He patted his friend's shoulder. "We're not out of this, yet."

Shepard left, heading back to his cabin to get some rest. Dr. Chakwas went to work on some of the other patients, those who received damage while in their pods. While they were busy, Garrus looked at his scar one more time.

He had been telling most of the truth when he said it reminded him of a "friend". His friend was an idol of his, and wasn't _actually_ real.

The scar on his arm was the cutie mark of Rainbow Dash. Garrus would know that because he liked the old _My Little Pony_ show, and was a secret Brony. Being the only Turian Brony in existence was his little secret, and he was going to take it to his grave if he had to.

He reclined himself into his medical bed, expecting a quick nap, but getting into a deep sleep…

* * *

"_We can always fix the hole in the roof, but not the one you left in our hearts."  
-Fluttershy to Applejack, during "The Last Roundup"_

_Ponyville, Equestria_

_+2 years, 11 months A.N._

_1 month after "Canterlot Wedding"_

The Mane Six waited at the train station, eagerly awaiting the next arrival.

Earlier in the day, Spike had received a letter signed by both Princesses, telling all of them that two VIPs were coming to town, and they were to greet them when they arrived. The mares couldn't say no, and Pinkie Pie never turned down an opportunity to have a welcoming party.

"So," Rainbow Dash asked aloud, lounging on a cloud she snagged for the wait, "Any ideas on who to expect?"

"I hope its Shining Armor and Cadence." Twilight Sparkle said, referring to her brother and sister-in-law. "I've been meaning to catch up with them for awhile."

"It could be Fancy Pants," Rarity put in, talking about her friend from Canterlot. "He always wanted to come see a 'rustic locale' like Ponyville."

"Could be some kinda dignitary," Applejack mused, "A fancy noble from a faraway land."

"I just hope they're nice." Fluttershy whispered in her quiet voice.

"I already know who it is." Pinkie Pie declared.

"You do?" The girls asked, surprised.

"Yep. My Pinkie Sense went off today. It told me that two old friends were showing up."

"Who?" They pressed.

"Not tellin'. But I think you'll be happy about it."

As she said that, the train pulled into station, letting loose a cloud of steam as it came to a stop. All watched and waited expectantly as the doors opened. And all (except Pinkie) were surprised by who came out.

An azure unicorn and a griffon walked out of the cabin. The griffon had the blue jumpsuit and goggles of the Wonderbolts, though her goggles were put up to show her eyes. The unicorn still had her old cape and hat, but now also had a star-covered vest too. They both had nervous, shy smiles, and were slouching, as if to make themselves look smaller.

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle." Said Trixie Lulamoon, apprentice of Princess Luna.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash." Said Gilda of Ravenpoint, newest member of the Wonderbolts.

The Mane Six were silent, most of them not believing what they were seeing. Surely _these_ two weren't showing their faces around here again, after what they did? The nerve of them!

Pinkie broke the silence. "Trixie! Gilda! How've you girls been?" She rushed them and grabbed them into a big bear hug. The duo could hardly breathe.

"Hey…Pinkie…can't…breathe!" Gilda gasped out.

"Oh, sorry." The party pony broke off the hug. The others, seeing that their friend had accepted them, approached cautiously.

"So, uh, gals," Applejack started, unsure where to begin, "What brings y'all back to town?"

"A lot of things, actually." Trixie answered. "But first and foremost, we wanted to apologize to all of you for what we did. AJ, I want to start with you, and how I'm sorry I tied you up in that rope trick."

The farm-mare winced at the memory, but said, "Its okay. Nothin' hurt but mah pride."

The ex-magician then turned to the white unicorn with the diamond cutie mark. "Rarity, I'm sorry for turning your hair into a green mess. Blue is your natural color."

The fashionista, ever the lady, returned, "Apology accepted, dear. Nice outfit, by the way."

"Oh, thank you." A small but genuine smile grew on her face. This was going as well as she hoped it would be. She looked to the cyan-colored Pegasus. "Dash, I'm sorry for putting you in that mini-tornado."

Rainbow, still looking at Gilda and her outfit, only responded with, "Yeah, sure."

Finally, she approached Twilight, her opposite, her shadow archetype. "I believe I owe the biggest apology to you, Twilight Sparkle. For causing so much trouble to you, the town, everypony. Had I known that Celestia's apprentice was living here, I certainly would've been more… well, modest, to say the least."

The purple unicorn was silent for a moment, looking Trixie up and down, analyzing her. Then she stated, "You're Princess Luna's new student, aren't you?"

"Why, yes." Trixie replied, the smile coming back to her. "She's been teaching me for about two years now."

"I figured as much." Twilight gave her own sweet smile, one that Trixie had wanted to see for quite some time. "Celestia kept on mentioning that Luna had one, but would never say who."

She took a step closer to her formal rival, looking her eye-to-eye. "Well, if the Princesses trust you, and you've truly learned your lesson, then I'll be the first one to welcome you back, Trixie."

"Thank you, Twilight." Trixie rushed up and hugged her former competitor. After a moment, realizing that the others were watching, she quickly released, blushing. "You don't know how much that means to me."

She looked to Gilda, signaling her to do her part. The griffon stepped forward, clearing her throat. She started with Fluttershy, who was avoiding eye contact and had her back to a wall. Gilda lowered her head below the yellow Pegasus, and spoke in a quiet voice, so not to frighten her unduly.

"I think," She half-whispered, "I owe you the biggest apology, Fluttershy. I'm sorry for snapping at you like I did, and making you cry. That was completely uncool and wrong of me."

Fluttershy looked down at the griffon, and saw the sincerity in her eyes and voice. "Its okay," The Pegasus whispered back, allowing brief eye contact, "I forgive you, Gilda."

Gilda smiled, but expected as much. Out of all the ponies, Fluttershy was always the quickest one to forgive (at least, that what she had heard from all the news and rumors that she picked up). She was about to move to Pinkie when she jumped up beside her.

"Gilda," The pink earth pony spoke in her cheery voice, "You don't have to say anything to me. I can see that you're not a mean meanie-pants anymore, so we can be friends."

"Really?"

"Sure, as long as you let me throw you and Trixie a party." The griffon hesitated, remembering what happened _last_ time Pinkie threw a party for her.

"No pranks this time?" She asked uncertainly.

"No pranks."

"Okay then, I don't see why not."

Pinkie Pie squealed, and ran off to go get ready. That left Gilda with Rainbow Dash, who was still staring at her.

"Rainbow, I-" She started.

"When did _you_ join the Wonderbolts?" The cyan Pegasus interrupted, miffed because she had tried to get in for _years_, and hadn't been accepted.

"I've been training with them for awhile." Gilda answered. "The Princesses pulled a few strings, made me an intern. I was accepted last week, in fact."

"Huh." Dash grunted, unsure to either be happy for her or jealous of her success.

"I got a free shot for you."

"What?" RD didn't quite catch that.

"I spoke with Soarin' and Spitfire after the Wedding. They were impressed that you could do a Sonic Rainboom on demand now. I let them know that you wanted to be a Wonderbolt since you were a filly, and they've already set up an appointment for this Thursday."

Rainbow gasped, taking a step back. She couldn't believe what she just said. "You… you got me in?"

"Basically." The griffon turned away, but her blushing cheeks still showed. "It wouldn't be right if I were on the team without my best friend."

Dashie froze, and that she felt that familiar sharp pang in her chest.

"I know I did some things to you and your other friends, some really regretful things. Your friendship means a lot to me, but I shouldn't have been possessive of you, or jealous with your new friends. I really am sorry, and I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me."

Gilda held out her clawed hand. RD stood still, looking at her face and hand. She batted it away, but now with her playful smile back. "Strangers shake hoofs. Come here." She rushed up and hugged her old friend, hiding her face in the feathers so on one could see her tearing eyes.

Gilda returned the embrace, her own eyes stinging. She had wanted this back for so long, to be together with her Pegasus. And it felt so right to be back, too. This time, she wouldn't keep any fake, "cool" façade. If it was good with Dash, it was good with Gilda.

After that tender moment, arrangements were made for their housing. Trixie, being a fellow student, would be allowed to live in the Library, along with Twilight. Rainbow Dash still had an extra room in her cloud house, which Gilda stayed in last time she was in town. The unicorns would spend that night exchanging spells and techniques, learned from their respective teachers. The flyers would spend theirs catching up on old and new adventures, as well as training tips for the Pegasus's test. From there, the week went as well as any of them could hope for…

* * *

Up in Canterlot Palace, Princess Luna had finally managed to escape the ever-present bureaucrats and petitioners, finding rest in her private chambers. She had been making an effort to be more active in affairs after the Wedding, but there had to be spots where you draw the line.

The dark alicorn settled down in her bed, feeling a little ashamed about that incident. Her city had been invaded, her sister beaten by the Changeling Queen, the Elements defeated. Her people needed her, and where was she?

Having Trixie and Gilda doing research in the tunnels while she flirted with Adam.

Granted, "officially" she was down there to help track the _Emperor's Wrath_, and to learn how to navigate the Warp. But really, it was an excuse to have some alone time with Him.

It had worked so well, until Adam asked where Celestia was.

"Oh," She said nonchalantly, "She's heading Cadence's wedding. She has it under control."

_Cadence? _He asked, confused. _Your 2__nd__ niece, the pink alicorn?_

"Yes, why do you ask?"

_She and Twilight Sparkle are beneath us right now._

"What?!"

Apparently, Chrysalis the Changeling had replaced Cadence, and tossed her into the caverns below. While Adam listened, He learned of her plans, and felt the gathering army approach.

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" She complained.

_I figured you already knew. You two are this world's gods, and you're both outside. You could __**see**__ them coming. All I have is what I see in this room, what you show me, and what I can feel with my senses. Besides, I still can't get out of this bed. How could I help you anyway?_

The changelings had already taken over at this point, so Luna stayed with the Human god as He gave a blow-by-blow account of what was going down. He gave vigorous detail when Shining Armor and Cadence used love magic to beat the changelings, later saying this would be very important, but not saying why. When things went back to normal, Luna excused herself and went to the party.

When asked where she was, she simply told them that she was fighting changeling attack in the caverns. Fortunately, she rarely lied, and most took what she said at face value.

But that was last month. Chrysalis was banished, Cadence and Armor were on their honeymoon, and Gilda and Trixie have finally returned to Ponyville. All was well in the world, and she could finally rest.

Luna closed her eyes, and let herself fall into Dreamland…

* * *

_ Luna dreamed her most common dream; The dream she had throughout her lunar exile, and the one she had when Discord came back: She dreamed of her early years with Adam. In particular, when they first met._

_ It began right after she gained her cutie mark, just having ascended the throne with her sister. Being a goddess of the night and the stars, she was given techniques on how to explore the universe in spirit. It was also a good way to avoid Celly when she wouldn't drop a subject, or was being annoying._

_ On one particular night, Luna wanted to see how far out she could go. In her astral wanderings, she discovered what appeared to be a hole in space. Being a curious filly, she decided to go through it. Exiting the other side was like entering a dark, foreboding jungle, or a stormy cosmic sea. She could hide herself from all the beings in this new universe, so she was in no danger. But all the same, Luna wouldn't forget the horrors she saw:_

_ Arcane, obscene geometries that twisted reality on a whim. Castles and cities of diseased flesh, inhabited by grotesque creatures. Vast, unending orgies that fed a ravenous, androgynous god. And, most prominently, a huge, boiling lake of blood, surrounding an island made of skulls._

_ Each God of the Four Regions emitted an emotion that felt almost poisonous to the alicorn; Betrayal, Despair, Lust, Rage; emotions of such foreignness and intensity that she almost didn't recognize them. It was almost too much for her little mind to handle._

_ The only reason she pressed on was that she was drawn to the one bit of light in this abyss._

_ Luna deduced that this was somewhere in the middle of this new universe, as everything seemed to circle around it like a flock of vultures. From a distance, she could hear a strange, psychic chanting emanating from the light. Although it was bright, the filly could still see what was in it._

_ And it was almost as bad as all the other visions she had seen._

_ In the light was a massive golden throne, tubes running from it into a glowing vortex. On this throne was a weird creature she'd never seen before: bipedal, encased in armor, a small and squarish head. This entity- male, by her guess- had ice gray eyes, long black hair, and an actual golden halo around his head. Luna would've found him quite good-looking, under different circumstances._

_ As it was, the being's face was marred, twisted in the screaming of pain and anguish. _

_ This person was bound to his chair, struggling but unable to break free. His eyes were locked onto the vortex, where the chanting was coming from. Luna followed his gaze._

_ She saw dozens, hundreds, a thousand creatures, similar to the one on the Throne, tossing themselves into the vortex. They were consumed, turned into pure energy, which went through the tubes and powered the throne. The machine in the throne hummed with an eerie, mechanical delight._

_ Now Luna knew why this God-thing was screaming. His people were being sacrificed to keep him alive._

_ The alicorn child looked up, and realized that this god was looking **right at her**. Somehow, He had broken through her illusions, and was staring directly into her eyes. She had never felt more bare and… more naked, in her entire life._

_ Then, in a voice that was both melodious and thunderous like the mightiest storm, the God asked her: **What are ****you****?**_

_ Her nerves finally reached the breaking point. Luna fled, half-running and half-flying, across the vast horrors, out the space hole, and back into her own body. She hid under her bed, crying and shaking for the rest of the night and most of the next day. She only came out when Celestia and Discord (still a hatchling, without most of his future powers) came in to check on her, so she could raise the Moon again._

_ After performing her royal duties, Luna told her sister and friend of the vision she saw. They were equally frightened and intrigued by this new universe, but because her state, all agreed never to go through that hole again._

_ Of course, that didn't stop anything from that side from coming through._

_ A few weeks passed, and Luna recovered from her trauma. Indeed, she actually felt stronger after the ordeal. The thing is about ponies, they turn out to be quite resilient mentally- there wasn't much that could traumatize them permanently. One night, when she regained her mental fortitude, she decided to go into astral form again._

_ Fortunately, she didn't have to go into it this time._

_ As she began preparing herself, she heard a strange mental voice calling to her. **Hello? Can you hear me?**_

_ Luna looked around her chambers, unsure if Discord or her sister were pulling a trick on her. **Who's that? Who's there?**_

_ **Fear not, young one,** The voice continued, and sounding calm, soothing… and somehow familiar. **I mean you no harm. I just wish to speak with you.**_

_** Who are you, stranger?**_

_** I was the one you saw on the Golden Throne.**_

_ The little alicorn froze, the vision coming back to her. It baffled her that someone who was in that much pain could sound so calm now. She tried to regain her mental composure as she spoke: **W-what are you, then?**_

_ **Those people you saw are called humans. I am their Emperor.**_

_** What happened to you? Why do they slaughter themselves for you?**_

_ The Emperor answered with old sorrow and guilt. **That story is long and full of sadness, little one. I would prefer, if you wish, to learn a little about you and your people.**_

_Luna felt a little hesitant about talking to this "Emperor", but she had been raised to act like a lady, which included being cordial and polite to strangers._

_ **Well, sir, my name is Princess Luna, and I am an alicorn, a Goddess of the Night.**_

_ **An alicorn? **The Emperor asked, **What, pray tell, is that?**_

_** Oh, we're God-Ponies; We look like winged unicorns.**_

_** Ponies?** He sounded a bit skeptical._

_ **Yes. You know; Earth ponies, Pegasus ponies, Unicorn ponies. You've seen them before, right?**_

_** Can you show me?**_

_From then on, the conversation turned visual. Luna showed Him images of the pony races, their abilities and achievements, their culture. She showed Him the other races of Equestria- dragons, griffons, zebras, etc.- and much of her understanding of magic. The Emperor (who wanted her to call Him "Adam") would occasionally send images back, showing His equivalent in His knowledge (Luna actually laughed when she saw His images of a "pony" and a "unicorn", looking all stupid and dumpy)._

_ This continued on for some time, until Celestia came in, unknowingly interrupting their long-distance conversation._

_ "Luna," Celestia asked, concerned, "You have been staring at the Moon for two hours now. Are you well?"_

_ "Yes, sister," Luna responded, "I have been having a lovely conversation with my new friend, Adam."_

_ "Adam?" The Sun Goddess was confused. Her sister was too old for imaginary friends, but there was nopony around. _

_ "Adam, can you speak to my sister as well?"_

_ **Greetings, Princess Celestia.**_

_ Celestia had the same reaction Luna did, much to the Emperor's amusement. The white alicorn was quickly brought up to speed on their conversation, and for her part actually handled it very well._

_ At the end, Celestia asked, **So, Adam, why have you decided to contact us?**_

_** I come to you two now, as I hope that perhaps you may be able to help me.**_

_** Help you how?** The sisters asked._

_ The Emperor then began to show them His plight._

_ He showed Himself many years ago; tall, mighty and fit, leading His soldiers and people across the galaxy, giving them room to grow and prosper._

_ He showed Himself among His children; the Primarchs, each a demi-god unto themselves, taking their Legions to fight in their Father's Name._

_ He showed the Ruinous Powers- those monstrous visions that Luna saw- corrupting His favorite sons, turning them into their slaves, causing heresy and civil war._

_ He showed the Battle of Terra, where the fate of humanity was in the balance._

_ He showed the slaying of Sanguinius, His mortal wounding, and the Ultimate Death of Horus._

_ He showed the fillies His entombment on the Golden Throne, and the 1000 psykers a day necessary to keep Him alive._

_ And then they saw all that followed; the stagnation, the constant war, the rise of Chaos, the Necrons, the Tyranids. Humanity was slowly heading on its way to extinction, just like the Eldar. All because of His failures._

_ When He stopped, the alicorns didn't realize they were crying. It was so sad, so horrible, to live in a universe so grim, so dark. So hopeless._

_ **Oh, Adam,** Luna finally asked, choked-up and teary-eyed, **How can we help you? How can we stop that future from coming to pass?**_

_** The only way**, The Emperor answered, **That my people can be saved is if I can come back and save them. At the moment, I can only lead them in spirit, for my body is broken and dead. Therefore, I ask you, if it's within your power, to find a way to heal and restore my body.**_

_ It was a tall order, that one. Full body restoration and resurrection was no small task, even for alicorns. And over long, galactic distances… downright impossible. Luna was about to respond…_

_X)(X)(X_

_ The dream sequence stopped, as the Emperor broke through it like Pinkie Pie breaks the Fourth Wall. They were no longer in Luna's chambers, but in the vastness of space around Equestria. And Luna was no longer a filly, but a full-grown mare, wise and strong._

_ **Luna,** Adam announced, **There has been a rather massive development.**_

_** What is it, Adam?** Luna asked, unsure of whether His entering of dreams was a good thing or not (for her, at least)._

_ **Come and see, my dear.** The Emperor gestured outward, and the Night Goddess looked around._

_ Far off to the "North", where the space hole was, a massive, gothic vessel was fast approaching. This ship was surrounded by daemonic, monstrous entities, trying to find a way inside it. _

_ That was the Emperor's Wrath, the ship coming for Him._

_ **I don't see what the problem is. **Luna told him._

_ **Look around you, Luna.**_

_ Luna turned to her right, to where the "object" was. Looking out, she saw a strange blue object, coming even faster than the Wrath._

_ **What is that?** Now she was confused and concerned, unknowingly backing up to Adam._

_ **I honestly don't know,** He admitted. **It's not like anything I've ever seen.**_

_** What do you mean?**_

_** It's not using Warp, Webway, or any other FTL method I know of. But its definitely not one of mine.**_

_Luna frowned, a little scared. She then glanced to her left, around the Emperor, and jumped a foot into the air, squeaking in fear._

_ Two more ships- or at least, ship-like shapes- were approaching too. The thing was, she could barely see them. They were invisible, save for when they passed by stars and refracted the light. It almost seemed like they were **beneath** space itself, and what she was seeing was the ships going under the stars, like rats going under a carpet._

_ **Adam, look!** Luna pointed to the bulgy blurs. The Emperor looked over, and complimented, **Good eyes, Princess. I was only ever able to sense them, but you could see them right away. And before you ask, no, they're not mine either.**_

_ **What does this all mean?** Luna felt a chill run down her spine, fear starting to wrap itself around her mind. Adam, seeing her deteriorating condition, put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, in front of her wings._

_ **It means a great many things, Luna.** The Emperor admitted, only sure of one thing. **But one thing is undoubtedly true. I hope your world enjoyed its peace and isolation, because all of that has come to an end…**_

* * *

Luna awoke from her dream, still feeling Adam's hand and the spike of fear. She turned herself to face the window of the night sky. Three new stars had appeared while she had slept.

She shuddered, despite the summer heat. Her oldest friend was right. Whether she liked it or not, starting tomorrow, the world as she had known it would end…

* * *

**2nd A/N:** _At this point, I would like to address some of the reviewers, who have been kind enough to read and critique this little project of mine._

_ Omegadelta: I will try to give a new chapter once a week, if possible. Although I do have the entire story set, I am currently attending college and working at part-time job. However, if the situation demands it, I will publish chapters in smaller parts, so you'll always have something. As for ending well, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. ;)_

_ Space Trooper: Its funny you mention that, because it was something I was fooling around with. I don't want to give away too much info, but suffice it to say, the Star Wars universe won't be involved in **this** particular story._

_ Samtheking: I'm sure Adam & Eve reqistered supconciously, but the main reason was more practical. In all the stories I've read (which, admittedly, isn't alot), He's always called just "The Emperor". Even xenos and daemons (who frickin hate him) call him that. As accurate as that statement is, just calling him "Emperor" the whole time would've been repetitive, which I don't want. Besides, by letting the alicorns know his name (as close to His name as we'll ever get), it conveys something of the relationship between them._

_As for knowing lore, I have done research on them, both from their wikias and from other works. I feel confidant that what happens is as accurate as could be predicted through so strange an event as this. However, if I get something disasterously wrong, please don't hesitate to let me know, and I will fix it. The last thing I want is to upset any group in particular, and have this story go the same way as Deliverance._

_And to all those who Favorited and Followed this story- Thank you! You guys are freaking awesome!_


	3. 2 Threshold Reactions

**A/N: Well, this story has had almost 400 views in a week and a half. I must say that I am impressed and honored at the attention this is getting. I wish I would get more in the way of reviews, but meh.**

**Anyway, this chapter is where the introduction phase ends, and the bulk of the story begins. Enjoy.**

Chapter 3: Threshold Reactions

* * *

"_Don't you hate it when some gay little song gets stuck in your head? I sure do…" -Anonymous_

_For those who travel between universes often, you may be able to track when exactly you enter a universe by feeling for the Threshold. For those who don't know, a Threshold is that strange, invisible line or area that marks off one world from another. Passing into a new world, you will experience a psychic broadcast, a Theme that will give you a brief understanding of what you're going into. _

_ Each world has a different one: The Haloverse has Gregorian chanting, marked with images of vast Forerunner constructs, like the Halo Rings. Mass Effect has a strange, ethereal drone, with a long montage of stars and planets. Warhammer is marked with a broad, orchestrate symphony, detailing many scenes of battle and woe. And as for the world of My Little Pony, well…_

* * *

Each of the four ships that first came to Equestria hit the Threshold at the same time, and each of them going about their daily business, unaware of what was about to transpire.

On the _Wrath_, Inquisitor Creighton and Captain Lema were discussing contingencies on dealing with the xenos that had taken care of the Emperor. Magos Kriel was chanting in binary to a machine spirit in the engineering room. Lt. Osburran was with his troops, checking if all their weapons were fully operational for the 7th time. Gideon and Numitor were both reviewing the _Codex Astartes_, the definitive guidebook for the Space Marines, to see if there was anything in particular it said about dealing with xenos, and _not _having to kill them (in the entire history of the Space Marines, they have only worked with other xenos about three times).

The _Road Not Taken_ and the _Eternal Judgment_ went about their routines of keeping their ships running. Alan and Cassius were playing an ancient but still popular card game called "Texas hold 'em". N'tho settled himself by reading an even more ancient book called "Sun Tzu's the Art of War" (A fascinating read for militarily-minded Sanghelli). Overall, kind of boring for all involved.

And on the _Normandy_, everyone was doing what they always do when they were on long Mass Relay jumps. Miranda checked up with the Illusive Man about what was going on. Jacobs was checking all the weapons. Jack was brooding in the lower decks. Grunt was smashing crap in the garage. Tali was working with the engines. Thane was praying, Samara was meditating. Mordin was studying data from some project he was working on, and Garrus was doing calibrations, leaving Shepard to roam the ship, seeing how everyone was doing.

All this was going down when they hit…

* * *

_A hot air balloon descended from into clouds…_

_ A rainbow-colored streak raced across the sky, heading straight for a quaint, picturesque town…_

_ The balloon landed in the middle of the town. All around it, the locals went about their business. The locals were equines- Ponies, that was the word that struck all their minds- all brightly colored and big-eyed, somehow being the definition of cuteness. Out of the balloon came a purple colored unicorn and a lavender colored dragon-thing. In front of the unicorn was a group of five other ponies…_

_ A rainbow maned, cyan-colored Pegasus, cocky and sure, racing among the clouds…_

_ A pink on pink pony, happy and sweet, inflating a bubble gum bubble…_

_ A white unicorn, sparkling and dazzling, standing among a room of mirrors…_

_ An orange pony with an actual Stetson cowboy hat, kicking an apple tree…_

_ A yellow colored Pegasus, looking meek and adorable, giving a rabbit an apple, which it promptly devoured…_

_ The purple unicorn, teleporting out of nowhere, having all the other ponies pose around her. The dragon-lizard thing blew green fire on a scroll, which then flew into a magnificent castle on a mountain. A majestic, regal equine with wings and a horn, opened the scroll, and gazed upon a picture of all the ponies in a group hug._

_ All the while, a cutesy, girly song was playing, sounding like this:_

_ "My Little Pony, My Little Pony. Ah, ah, ah, ah…  
__My Little Pony. I used to wonder what Friendship could be,  
__Until you shared that magic with me;  
__Big adventure, tons of fun,  
__A giving heart, faithful and strong,  
__Sharing kindness, it's an easy feat,  
__And magic makes it all complete, yeah!  
__My Little Pony, you know you are my very best friend…"_

* * *

Collectively, unaware that all the ships saw the same thing, the visitors snapped out of the vision, looked at their closest neighbor, and thought the same thought: _What the Hell did I just see?_

* * *

_Emperor's Wrath_

_Date: Unknown M.42 (20 days relative to the ship, unknown to the Materium)_

_Thought of the day: Blessed is the mind too small for doubt._

The Imperial vessel exited the Warp, opposite side of the system from the Mass Relay. None of the Emperor's men could see it, however, as the windows were all sealed up. They wouldn't have cared, either. They had more pressing matters to attend to.

The leaders on the ship were back in the bridge, discussing what they saw in the vision. The opinion on it was evenly split: some of them thought that it was a work of Chaos, to put them in a false sense of security; others thought that it _couldn't_ be Chaos-based, as something _that_ cute couldn't _possibly_ be made by the evils of the Ruinous Powers (Evil doesn't _do_ cute).

"Whatever that vision was," The Inquisitor finally decided, "Is completely irrelevant now. As I'm sure you all are aware, we have arrived to the Emperor's location. Magos, bring up the holoscreen, please."

The tech-priest loaded into the holoscreen, which brought up footage of the star system. All the leaders looked, and all became confused.

"Inquisitor," Captain Lema asked, "Perhaps I'm looking at this wrong, but does it look like the sun is _smaller_ than the planet?"

"It seems that way, Captain." Creighton responded, still squinting of the hologram. "It also looks like the sun is _the same size_ as moon there."

"Are they… are they actually going _around_ the planet?"

"Again, it looks that way. Unless the Magos here decided to grow a sense of humor."

"I assure you, Inquisitor," Kriel responded, "What you are seeing here is what is out there. Although it doesn't seem logical in the slightest bit."

"Perhaps we've entered a pocket universe in the Warp." This was spoken by Jericho Guiterra, the head Astropath of the _Emperor's Wrath._ The small, feeble old man had been part of the ship since becoming a Navigator when he turned sixteen. He had a scrawny white goatee, and a blindfold that covered his eye sockets - an unfortunate side effect of looking into the Astronomicon, and binding his soul with the Emperor. As the most experienced psyker onboard, his knowledge of the Warp was without question.

"The laws of the Materium," He continued, gesturing to the hologram (which he could see through his psychic powers), "May not be the same as our own. Thus, stars are smaller, gravity works differently, and things which we would consider impossible are normal day occurrences."

"Indeed." Creighton mused, putting that little bit of information in the back of his mind. But, continuing on, he asked, "Jericho, can you pinpoint where on the planet's surface the Emperor is?"

The Navigator took a step closer to the holoscreen, and pointed to the middle of the central continent. "Around here," He described, "Towards the northern hemisphere. I'm also detecting a few other really powerful psykers there as well. Must be the xeno gods that He mentioned."

He was quiet for a moment, as if deep in thought. "Huh," He grunted, "I'm picking up a lot of minor psyker minds down there. _A lot _of them. I think… I think there may be an entire race of psykers down there."

Creighton's stomach turned cold. An entire race of psykers? Xenos with their own gods, possibly on par with the Emperor? This was sounding more and more like a new kind of Eldar by the minute, making this job all that much more complicated.

Mendel leaned back in his chair, squeezing the bridge of his nose. "If anyone has any opinions on the matter, I'm more than willing to listen."

Lieutenant Osburran spoke up. "The Emperor didn't say whether or not these gods had physical bodies or avatars. Maybe they aren't a threat to us."

"Furthermore," Captain Gideon put in, "From the images here, it doesn't appear like the xenos are all that advanced. Maybe pre-industrial, at best."

"Indeed," Captain Numitor also said, "All we have to do is demonstrate our superiority, and they'd worship us as gods themselves. Do something like blow up a mountain, fly over their cities, slay their best warriors, something mundane like that."

Mendel smiled. "You know," He declared, "That might actually work. That actually sound like the perfect plan." He turned to the captain. "Lema, I want you to-"

The Inquisitor didn't finish his sentence, as the tech-priest and the psyker became possessed.

One moment, they were listening intently to their comrades, the next they were seizing up, as an unknown force began to take control. The blindfold on Jericho burned away, and the eyes sockets on both he and Kriel started glowing with white orbs. The Space Marines and Guardsman, fearing they had been possessed by daemons, drew their guns and chainswords to dispatch them.

_"Do not shoot, but listen, Warriors of Humanity!"_ The possessed men spoke together, in a voice both musical and powerful. The Astartes, the Guardsman, the Inquisitor- everyone on the bridge- stopped what they did, and looked upon them. Only one person alive could speak with that voice…

Everyone went down to their knees, murmuring "_Ave Imperator,_" which in English translates to "Hail the Emperor." His spirit was in their presence, managing to both control a psyker _and_ a tech-priest.

Speaking in a calmer voice now, the Emperor continued, "_I have listened to your plans, my children, and I must tell you now; Acting against the xenos in violence and arrogance is the __**worst**__ possible thing you could do, and something I will not let come to pass. So, I would like to have your word of honor, that you would give the respect and honor to these xenos that you would your brothers."_

The men of the Imperium felt intensely conflicted. For thousands and thousands of years, humanity had taught itself to fear and hate the alien, the non-human. In all its history, experiences with the Eldar, Tyranids, Orks and Tau, nothing good ever came from working with xenos. A good alien was a dead alien.

But, more importantly, humanity had also spent thousands and thousands of years learning to worship and obey the Emperor. To some, He was a literal god. To others, He was a hero by the truest definition, keeping mankind alive and together through its darkest hours. If it was decreed that the Emperor wanted something, the Imperium would move the very galaxy to get it.

Thus, each and every one of the crew and passengers onboard gave their oath that they would not kill the xenos unless provoked, and that they would treat them with respect in the Emperor's name. Even the Inquisitor gave his word, although he asked, "But, My Lord, why can't we show them our might? Why can't we just come and get you?"

_"I will explain that in due time, Inquisitor Mendel Creighton."_ The Emperor spoke again, "_But now, I must enlighten you on what to expect when you come down."_

The possessed tech-priest tapped away at the controls of the holoscreen, and the image of the system was replaced by the image of an equine creature from the vision. It was big-eyed, brightly colored, and had a cute, naïve, innocent smile on its face.

"_This is a Pony."_ He continued, _"They are the most prolific race on this world, which is called Equestria. There are three variations of this Race: Earth Pony, Pegasus Pony, and Unicorn Pony." _The hologram Pony changed with the last two, having wings for the second one, and a horn for the last one.

_"This is Princess Celestia and Luna." _The image of two horse-like ponies popped up, a tall white one and a smaller dark blue one. They both had wings and horns. _"They are both rulers of this world, and the goddesses of the sun and moon. They were the ones who have given me my new body, and to whom I owe an enormous debt to."_

_ "I do not want to cause them or their people any unnecessary trouble. Therefore, when you come to get me, the shuttle you come in will land in a place called the Everfree Forest." _ A map of the region appeared, and an arrow pointed to a large forest on the eastern side. _"This place is considered wild and treacherous to the locals, and will not have a large population to see you."_

_ "When you land, there is a town to the west. It is called Ponyville. In it, you will meet a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle." _A purple unicorn with a six-pointed star on its flank appeared. _"She is an apprentice of Celestia, and shall be our representative and guide among the locals. And when it is time to collect me, she and the Princesses will bring you to me."_

_ "Go forth, my children. I await your arrival."_

And with that, the Emperor released Jericho and Kriel, both visibly awed by the ordeal. The Inquisitor regained some of his composure, and ordered in a shaky voice, "Captain Lema, set a course for 'Equestria'. I think we follow the Emperor's plan from here."

"Indeed, Inquisitor. Indeed…"

* * *

UNSC_ Road not Taken_

_June 23rd_

The people of Halo tried to deal with the vision as best they can. Not an easy thing to do, as they didn't have the least idea on what they experienced. For the most part, everyone, both on the _Road not Taken_ and the _Eternal Judgment_ pretended that they didn't see anything, and continued whatever they were doing.

There was only one indication that the vision happened: Everyone, and I mean _everyone_, had that earworm of a song stuck in their head. The Grunts would dance to it, the Jackals would whistle it, and the Hunters, Drones and Engineers would hum it in their strange, alien languages.

This led to mixed reactions among the rest of the crew. Some people, like Alan and Cassius, happened to like the song, and would occasionally join in. Others, like N'tho, couldn't stand it, and were slowly being driven mad by it.

"For the love of the Forerunners!" He shouted one night, before they arrived in the system, "Please stop singing that goddamn song!"

"Oh, come on, N'tho," Cassius demurred, "It's not that bad a tune. You're just overreacting."

"I've always thought that suicide has been the coward's way out," He countered, "But after hearing that for 2 days nonstop, I want to take myself to an airlock and launch myself into the void."

_"Mah Lil' Pony, Mah Lil' Pony…"_ Vasquez sang, continuing his irritating rampage. The Sanghelli bellowed in frustration, and started smacking his head with a data pad to smash the song out of his head, much to his comrades' amusement.

Finally, after a longer than anticipated journey through slipspace, the two ships exited out. When they reentered real space, they popped out behind a large planetary mass, presumably a moon. As the ships began to move out of the umbra, most soldiers and staff not busy maintaining the ship went to whatever windows that were available, eager to see their destination.

Alan, Cassius and N'tho went to the hangar, where the doorway was sealed with plasma shielding (a technological gift from the CAR to all new ships), allowing transparency and breathable atmosphere. Slowly, like an excellent cinematic for a video game, the moon fell away, and the full system came into view. What they saw dumbfounded them.

"Why is that star so small?" Cassius asked rhetorically, almost knowing that no one could possibly answer him.

"How can that planet be bigger than its sun?" Vasquez wondered. "N'tho, yah think it might be Forerunner work?"

"Possibly," The Sanghelli mused, "If anyone has the power to do that, it would be them. I can't think of anyone else it could be."

The view was quite spectacular, and warranted them looking for most of half an hour. The planet itself was beautiful; two large continents spanning most of the globe, all different shades of blue and green and brown. No pollution, no development, no signs of destruction. It was a virgin world if ever there was one.

Later that day, all the soldiers onboard both the _Road not Taken _and the _Eternal Judgment_ were summoned to their respective briefing rooms, getting the low-down on the planet as the ships went into orbit around the planet.

Scans of the planet indicated that there was indeed a civilization down there. Somewhere between medieval and early industrial; Tier 6 civilization, nothing too advanced. Building dimensions pointed to the inhabitants being between three and five feet tall. The only weird thing about this world were the clouds; they hardly ever moved.

But, more importantly, the position of the Master Chief had been located on the planet. The only caveat to this was that, apparently, he was inside a mountain underneath a castle- How the hell that even happened, no one could guess; probably slipspace related. With the advent of discovering a new race, the rescue and recovery mission had turned into a stealth op and first contact assignment.

Captain Mark Brogan of the _Road not Taken_ and Ship Master Thar 'Valuum of the _Eternal Judgment_ had a brief discussion on how to proceed. It was eventually concluded that, to avoid scaring the locals, the landing squad would land on the outskirts of civilization, by one of the large forests near the castle. And the landing team would be small; 2 Pelicans and a Phantom, carrying a total of 50 troops.

Three squads were selected, including Alan's unit. However, when the Ship Master learned that N'tho and Cassius were also onboard, he made a request that they accompany the humans down to the planet (probably to do some kind of switcheroo on the surface. Ex-Covenant races were still just a bit leery about being around humans _too_ much).

As the two ships began heading for the north pole of the planet, the squads began prepping for the drop. But really, nothing they could do could prepare them for what they were going to experience down there…

* * *

_SSV Normandy_

_September 7th, 2285_

The reactions to the vision onboard the _Normandy_ were as varied and different as the crew members onboard.

The majority of the crew, having just been experimented on by the Collectors, think it was a latent effect from the experiments, go to Dr. Chakwas for examination (who herself thinks she may not be in the right state of mind either).

Miranda and Dr. Solus, both experienced with mental psychosis, tried to rationalize and explain what they saw, coming up with any number of theories that could explain the vision (most of them involving the Protheans and the Reapers, who were the only other races they knew that dabbled in psychic communication). But nothing they came up with could properly explain the bizarreness of the vision.

Jacobs ignored it, not finding any particular reason to dwell on it. Jack and Grunt, always the more combative and short-minded of the team, quickly drowned out the tune by breaking stuff in the garage. Tali thought it was kind of cute, until she found herself absent-mindedly drawing the ponies while working in Engineering.

Thane and Samara believed it was somehow a message from their respective gods, a sign of great change for the ship, and possibly the galaxy. Matt Shepard, having been at the receiving end of mind-bending visions, tries to analyze it, thinking that it may have some kind of cryptic message hidden in it.

And Garrus…

After receiving the vision, Garrus immediately went back to his cabin. Making sure that no one else was around, he activated his personal computer, and opened his private files; the video files of "My Little Pony", seasons 1-5.

He didn't watch a particular episode, but rather focused on the opening theme, setting it on loop. He watched it about ten times, scrutinizing every detail. After the last loop, he had an epiphany that hit him like a ton of bricks.

The vision he saw was beat-for-beat a copy of the opening sequence of "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic."

_By the Spirits,_ He thought, falling back into his chair, looking at his scar with new understanding, _What have we gotten ourselves into now?_

The next day, the _Normandy _finally exited out of transit. The receiving Mass Relay, looking just like the one they jumped on, was on the edge of a small, strange star system. From the get-go, they realized this was no ordinary system.

_ "_Uh, Commander," Joker spoke as Shepard approached the bridge, "Is it just me, or is that tiny star going _around_ that planet?"

"That observation is quite correct, Joker." EDI answered, "The planet is about 1.19 times the size of Earth, while that star is about .095% the size of Sol. Although how that doesn't make it a radioactive neutron star, I have no data to explain it."

"Can you pick up anything else about this place?" Shepard asked.

"I've been scanning the planet, Commander. So far, I'm detecting high levels of rare earth materials all over the surface."

"Like what? Palladium? Platinum? Iridium? Element Zero?"

"All of them and 127 more."

"Seems like we struck pay dirt, Shepard." Joker told him.

"Anything else you can see?"

EDI continued, "Visual scans of the planet indicate there may be some development by an unknown alien civilization. However, I cannot determine how advanced this culture is, as I'm receiving high levels of interference all over the place."

"What kind of interference?"

"I can't identify it. There seems to be high levels of energy saturating the system. I have no data entries that can identify it, although it seems somewhat familiar to electromagnetic disturbances."

Shepard looked out the window, gazing upon this virgin world. So green, so peaceful. Hard to believe that it was on the other side of a Mass Relay with the Collectors. But, if this world was truly untouched, it would fall to Shepard and his crew to make the first contact, and not have it go like the Rachni wars.

"EDI, Joker," Shepard ordered, "Set us on course with that planet. Its time I put my feet back on the ground."

"Aye aye, Commander." Joker replied. The ship's engines kicked on again, and began heading for the strange planet, completely oblivious (as the others were) that they weren't the only ones heading for this globe…

* * *

_Ponyville, Equestria_

_3 years A.N._

_1 month after Trixie and Gilda's return_

Spike, the only dragon in Ponyville -and Twilight's personal assistant- was walking down the street, unaware that he had been marked. He had been sent to the post office to get a package from Baltimare, something that Twilight had ordered for some new spell she was working on. She was still busy working on the preparation for the spell with Trixie -it still baffled him that the show-off unicorn had done a complete 180 on her personality- so she sent the always reliable Spike to go collect.

Not that he minded being a servant boy. He had lived with Twilight Sparkle since she was a filly and he was a hatchling. Hay, she actually _hatched _him for her entrance exam into Celestia's school, and became the Princess's own protégé. Working for the purple unicorn was always… interesting, but also fulfilling. And with her current circle of friends also being _his_ friends as well, it all worked out.

At this moment, Spike was carrying the box from the post office back to the tree house library that they lived in, when out of nowhere (as she often does), Pinkie Pie showed up.

"Hey there, Spikey Wikey." She said in that singsong voice of hers.

"Oh, hey Pinkie." He returned. It slightly grated him when ponies called him by that nickname. Only one pony -Rarity, his crush since coming into Ponyville- could say it with impunity.

"What'cha got there?" She asked. She walked with him, staying to his right, and glancing up to the sky every now and then.

Spike immediately got suspicious, but told her, "Just getting some mail for Twilight. She's working on some… future-seeing spell or something."

"_Another_ spell," The party pony giggled, "I know that she and Trixie are the Princesses' students, but you'd think they would have a break every now again for a party."

"Pinkie, you think _everyone_ should party all the time."

"Well, am I wrong? Aren't my parties' fun?"

"Sure they are. Its just… well, don't you think you have them a _little_ too often?"

Pinkie's constant smile lowered slightly. "What makes you say that, Spike?"

Spike slowed his pace, thinking on how to put what he wanted to say. "Well, do you remember when you wanted throw an after-party for Gummy the _day after_ you threw his birthday?"

"And everyone was avoiding me, and I got suspicious and thought they didn't like me anymore, and I interrogated you and made you say what I wanted you to say, and went crazy?"

"Uh… yeah."

"But then it turned out that they weren't avoiding me, but were throwing _me_ a surprise birthday party, and Twilight wrote a friendship report to the Princess about trusting your friends and stuff?"

"You know what, forget I said anything."

"Okie-dokie-lokie. And Spike, watch out for that puddle."

"Wha- AAAAUUGH!"

Unbeknownst to Spike, Pinkie had secretly guided him into the puddle, which just so happened to be underneath a perfectly placed thunder cloud. On top of said cloud, a Pegasus activated the lightning bolt inside, which hit the puddle and gave the dragon a nasty little shock. The box went flying, and Spike dropped to the ground. Fortunately, dragons are pretty durable, and he was only a little singed and shocked.

Gilda and Rainbow Dash poked their heads above the cloud, and with Pinkie, broke into uproarious laughter at another well-played prank. "Oh, boy," The griffon laughed, "You should've seen the look on your face. Freakin' priceless!"

"Totally," Dash chuckled, "You must've gotten 3 feet of air! Perfect timing."

"Yeah, yeah," Spike replied, dusting himself off, "You girls got me g… Oh crap!" The baby dragon looked up, leapt across the puddle, and caught the package midair. When he came back down, he did a cool (if unnecessary) spinning roll, saving the box from harm.

The two ponies and griffon looked at Spike with disbelief, completely surprised to see that little stunt. Usually, the kid was something of a klutz, always dropping stuff everywhere and being the dragon version of Derpy. "Wow, Spike!" Pinkie cried out, "I've never seen you move that fast!"

"Dang, little dude." Dash declared, "I've known you for 3 years, and I've never seen you do anything like that."

Spike looked at the box, then himself, and then the sizable puddle he leapt over. He smiled, proud of his achievement. "Yeah, that was pretty cool."

"I tell ya," Gilda said, "When you finally grow your wings, you should join up with us. The Wonderbolts are much more open with membership nowadays."

"Yeah, well, I'll keep that in mind. In the meantime, I'll see you girls later." He resumed walking to the library. Pinkie was following a short distance behind.

"Hey, Pinkie, where are you going?" Rainbow called out. "I thought we were going to some more pranking today?"

"Later, silly," The earth pony responded, "But we got to go over to Twilight's first."

"…Why?"

"Because the plot demands it, of course."

Gilda looked at her comrade. "It's been a month since I've been here, and she still acts loco. Does she have some condition or something?"

"Sure," Her rainbow-maned compatriot deadpanned, "It's called 'Pinkieism'. There's no known cure. Let's go make sure she doesn't burn something down or randomly break into song."

The griffon shrugged, and flew alongside her friend. Pinkie's randomness was a small price to pay to live in Ponyville.

In the past month, a lot had happened. Firstly, Rainbow Dash got accepted into the Wonderbolts. It was definitely one of the best days they've ever had, seeing her pull off a double Sonic Rainboom for them (even Dashie didn't know how she pulled it off). Now that she had her uniform, she practiced with the team every Tuesday and Thursday.

Secondly, Gilda and Trixie had been welcomed back into the town. They could go to Sugarcube Corner and not get dirty looks, or go to Sweet Apple Acres and not have apples thrown at them. Gilda had even been offered a spot on the local weather team, and Trixie was often seen wandering the town with Twilight Sparkle, fixing any minor disputes or problems.

And thirdly, friendships had been fixed. All the Elements of Harmony had befriended the former outcasts, along with their families and siblings (Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity having extensive families in town). Gilda and RB were back to the way they were before they first separated, and Trixie and Twilight seemed to get along as if they never were former enemies to begin with.

In general, this had been the best month ever for everyone.

They arrived at the library, finding Twilight glaring at the merry pranksters, Spike hiding in the kitchen with the box.

"What in the wide world of Equestria were you girls _thinking_?" She demanded, looking super pissed off. "Electrocuting Spike like that. That package could've been damaged, or worse, you could've really hurt him. I would've thought that you were all above such things."

The pranksters stood about awkwardly, slightly embarrassed. Gilda looked about the library for Trixie's support, but the azure unicorn was at Fluttershy's cottage to obtain further ingredients for the spell. Still, she tried to calm the situation.

"Aw, come on, Twi," She demurred, "Spike's borderline unbreakable. I've seen how he looks after going through your teleportation spells. Believe me, if he can come out of that only a little singed, he can handle some low voltage shocks."

"Yeah," Dash put in, putting her hoof on Twilight's shoulder, "Besides, you should've seen the way he caught your mail afterwards. It was so cool. If I didn't know better, I'd think that he was a ninja or somethin'."

"Totally," Pinkie practically squeaked with her high-pitched voice, "You haven't been showing any silly kung fu movies, have-"

Pinkie stopped mid-sentence, something she never ever did. The others in the library noticed, and looked at her, slightly perplexed. She had completely froze up, her mouth open for the next word. She stood there for a solid three seconds, not even breathing it seemed.

"Uh, Pinkie?" Rainbow asked, poking her ribs, "Are you-"

The earth pony's eyes rolled up to her skull, and she fell to the side, spazing and twitching like in a seizure.

Now, while the girls were frightened by this sudden turn of events, this had kind of happened before. The twitching was a sign of her Pinkie Sense, a bizarre ability that she had which allowed her to predict the future. This, however, was different. They had never seen it so fully controlling, so strong an attack. It was almost stroke-like in intensity.

"Pinkie!" Twilight exclaimed, and the girls rushed to their friend. Spike poked his head out of the kitchen, curious as to what was happening. Remembering from a medical journal about holding down a convulsing pony to keep from hurting themselves, Twilight jumped on Pinkie. However, she forgot it said _not _to hold a pony down, and was promptly launched to the second floor. The party pony's blue eyes then became wide and fear stricken, as if beholding the most horrific scenes imaginable. She screamed, a scream so loud and bloodcurdling that it could be heard across town, and chilled the listeners to their very core.

Then, just as suddenly as it came, the attack passed, leaving her laying on the floor gasping for breath. She looked at her friends, looking scared and confused, as if not knowing where she was.

"Pinkie Pie," Dash hissed, mind reeling from the chain of events, "What the f$*k was _that_?"

"A doozy." She returned, sounding forced and dead, rather than her usual, happy and witty way of talking.

"Well, what's going to happen?" Gilda demanded. For her friend to have such a huge (and utterly creepy) burst, it must be something completely unimaginable.

Pinkie got up, shaking her head to banish some particularly bad visuals. Quick as a flash, she was back to her usual, perky self. "Oh, we're getting visitors tomorrow."

"Visitors?" Twilight repeated, rubbing her head as she finally got down the stairs. "What kind of visitors?"

"Offworlders, Twilight. Aliens are coming."

Their eyes went wide for a second, as her words registered to them.

"Wait, we're going to be visited by aliens? Alien-invader-type aliens?"

"No no, they're not here to take over. They're friendly. The aliens are here to get something, something important."

"Aliens are coming?!" Dash exclaimed, "That's so cool! I wonder what type of cool stuff they have, or what they look like."

"Yeah, totally." Gilda gave a nervous laugh, her mind returning to the armor in the glass container, the "Master Chief". Part of her wondered if these aliens were here to collect it. The rest of her, however, wanted to tell Trixie and the Princesses as soon as possible.

"Well, if you're certain the aliens are coming," Twilight said, "I should probably write a letter to the Princess to give her a heads-up."

"Don't worry, she already knows about them."

Twilight looked surprised, but probably should've expected it. After all, the Princesses look over the heavens, so they would know when anything was coming to Equestria. Gilda looked even more nervous, dead certain that these were definitely the aliens for the armor.

"Hang on a second," Spike interrupted, joining in the conversation, "Are these aliens evil? Why were you screaming?"

Pinkie lowered her head, looking both sad and scared. "It wasn't the aliens that made me scream," She whispered, barely audible, "It was what _followed_ the aliens." She squeezed her eyes shut, a stray tear falling down her muzzle. "Hatred. War. Death. Things that nopony should go through…"

For being a library, Twilight's house had never been as quiet as it was that moment…

* * *

_Canterlot, Equestria_

_The Silver Tomb_

The Goddesses of Day and Night stood around the God of Man, looking at a projection of their star system with worry and apprehension.

Using their magical control of the sun and moon, Celestia and Luna were able to project everything that was under their celestial control. Which meant that they had perfect visuals of the four approaching starships.

"Okay," Celestia began, zooming in the projection to the three unidentified space vessels, "Let's see what these other visitors are."

The projection zoomed in on two vessels, both relatively close to each other, indicating they were part of a fleet perhaps. The largest one was ornate and stylized, tinted a pinkish chrome with a curvy design and extended "neck", aglow with many blue points of light. The smaller ship was stubbier, colored a metallic brown with scattered golden lights, clearly built more for function than form.

"These," Luna spoke, reading the banners on both ships, "Appear to be the… CAR _Eternal Judgment_ and the UNSC _Road not Taken_." _UNSC,_ Luna thought, _That sounds a little familiar._

"And this," Celestia announced, zooming in on the tiny, black and white ship that came from the Object, "Is the SSV_ Normandy II._ Looks pretty small for a spaceship, probably some kind of personal yacht. It certainly doesn't look very threatening, compared to the others."

_Perhaps,_ Adam mused, _But we can't judge these newcomers by their ship alone. Fortunately, I have enough power in me to look inside the ships, see what these strangers have. Allow me._

The projection moved back to the long ship, the _Eternal Judgment_. It became highlighted, as the Emperor began scanning the interior and its passengers. This would take a few moments, leaving the alicorns in silence. Celesta waited patiently, eyes locked on the projection.

Luna, however, had let her mind wander. In particular, her mind returned to memories of old, to when Royal Sisters first created the Silver Tomb…

X)(X)(X

_Celestia, Luna and Discord stood in the newly finished chamber, preparations finally wrapped up for the ritual. It had taken many months of laborers toiling and constructing in secrecy, and then many more months of lacing the room with intense magic to get ready. To say they were eager to begin was an understatement._

_ It had been about 20 years since the children first met with the Emperor, and had taken up the mission of trying to help him. They searched the Canterlot Archives, searching for anything that might solve their puzzle, until the discovered the Enhanced Golem Spell. Basically, it was detailed instructions on how to create an artificial magical being, one capable of holding immense power. Possibly even the sheer mass of the Emperor's Spirit._

_ Luna stood at the edge of the massive bed, where the ritual's magic would be held. 20 years was a long time for mortals, but for her and her sister and friend, it had only been the span from childhood to adolescence. She was just starting to grow into her long legs and wings, her coat starting to go from the almost indigo color of youth into a darker midnight blue._

_ She turned to her sister, standing at the left side of the bed. "You ready, Celly?"_

_ "Of course, Luna," Celestia replied, smiling and confidant, "Whenever you are."_

_ She nodded. Luna had always been a little jealous of the sun goddess. Being older, taller, having all the ponies idolize her for raising the sun while her sister was shunned because of the night. Not to mention the always clean white coat and flowing pink mane that she effortlessly flaunted without even trying, making Luna feel…under- whelming in comparison._

_ "Pardon me, girls," Discord asked, a little annoyed, "Is there any particular reason why **I** have to be down here? After all, this ritual only required two spell casters."_

_ The Princesses sighed, having to deal with the one boy in the room. Discord was, for all intents and purposes, the ultimate misfit. He was a Draconequus, the dragon equivalent of an alicorn. But while the alicorns were the perfect embodiment of all the best qualities of pony-kind, he was a mutated chimera. He had the body of a pony, wings of a bird and dragon, arms of a lion and eagle, mismatched eyes, horns and teeth, all differently colored and sized, with the attitude of a mischievous prankster and a deadpan snarker._

_ Obviously, when he was hatched, he didn't stay long among his kind, as his looks, early magical powers and mischievous personality made dragons hate him. Fortunately, Celestia found him hiding in the Royal Gardens, and "adopted" him. Luna found him to be a little irritating herself, but Celly seemed to find him pretty endearing. Which is why, at times when Discord was causing them trouble, Luna let her sister take care of him._

_ Like now, for instance._

_ "Discord," Celestia soothed the complaining Draconequus, "We've been over this before. The spell was originally meant for making golems and holding mortal spirits in a body. This is meant for a god. The spell was intended for a pony's small shape. This is for a much larger, more powerful **human**. And most importantly, the spell was intended for just magical energies. We're working with our magic **and** Adam's 'Warp magic'. So, since you're the only one of us who even **has** Warp powers, you are probably the most important part of this ritual."_

_ "I just don't see why I have to help that guy," Discord protested, "He doesn't even like me."_

_ "Nonsense!" Celestia countered, "Of course he likes you. That's why he let you join the ritual."_

_ In all fairness, they were both right. Adam didn't like Discord when he first met him. When Luna made their first introduction, Luna picked up feelings of loathing and disgust, and heard him say something like "**Chaos Daemon**". For the most part, they didn't speak to each other, and at times it seemed as if Adam was tempted to just reach out and destroy Discord. But, after many talks with the sisters, he finally decided that Discord wasn't a threat, and may even be somewhat helpful in the future._

_ This ritual was, if anything, a test of Discord's trustworthiness._

_ The "Spirit of Disharmony", as he would later be known, sighed, and said, "Fine, I'll help. But only 'cause you asked me so nicely." He smiled at her with that lopsided grin of his, snaggletooth and all. Celestia returned in kind, and the two of them had the strangest look in their eyes._

_ **Why are they looking at each other like that?** Luna wondered, looking at the both of them. **They couldn't be getting all lovey-dovey or anything, could they? The way they fight all the time? They're like flippin' cats and dogs!**_

_ "So," Luna spoke up, breaking the moment, "Uh, are we ready to begin now?"_

_ "Sure thing, Woona," Discord said, using Luna's annoying filly-hood nickname, "Let's get this show on the road. Bring in Skeletor."_

_ Luna began focusing, feeling the local space for His presence._

_ **Adam. Adam, can you hear me?**_

X)(X)(X

_Luna. Equestria to Luna, can you hear us?_

The Night Princess snapped out of her reverie, and looked back to her sister and the Emperor.

"Oh, sorry," She apologized, "What were saying?"

_I was just about to tell you about the aliens on the __**Eternal Judgment**__._

_ "_Oh, yes, of course. What did you find?"

_A lot, actually. The ship is definitely xeno. Not a human on the whole thing. Seems pretty Tau-like, though, as they have multiple species running it._

"Can you show us what the aliens look like?"

_Definitely. Come, see._

The Princesses then received mental flashes of all the aliens onboard, an image accompanied with a weird, nonsense word that was probably what they called themselves. Names like "Sanghelli", "Jiralhanae", "Uggnoy" and "Kig-Yar", to name a few. They were ugly bastards, too: mandible-mouthed, monkey-looking, squat and blue-skinned, birdlike and wide-eyed - a straight-up freak show, it seemed like.

After showing all the aliens Adam told them, _Now I shall scan this __**Road not Taken,**__ see what they are up to._ The projection moved to the stubby brown ship, again highlighted as it was scanned. Luna returned to the memory, but only with half her mind, so to still be aware of what transpired around her…

X)(X)(X

_**Adam, can you hear me?**_

_** Of course, Woona,** The Emperor chuckled, **I've been right here the whole time.**_

_ Luna bit back a giggle. For whatever reason, when Celly or Discord called her that, it irked her. But when Adam said it, she thought it was the sweetest nickname ever._

_ She looked up at the ceiling, and saw a small orb of blue light hovering above them. This was how He managed to manifest Himself among the Equestrians, projecting an infinitesimal portion of His power across the multiverse._

_ "There He is, Celly." She announced, pointing to the manifestation._

_ Celestia looked at the Spirit, and smiled that winning smile of hers. "Are you ready, my friend?"_

_ **I'm ready when you are, my dear,** The Emperor answered. He then lowered himself to Discord's face, glowing more intensely. **The real question, however, is whether ****you**** are ready, Discord.**_

_ The Draconequus grimaced. "Of course I'm ready, Skeletor." He snapped, standing straighter over the orb. "Would I be here if I wasn't?"_

_ **Maybe not, Daemon. But you still haven't given me any reason to trust you yet. I just want to be sure that I don't have my new form corrupted before I even enter.**_

_"How many times must I tell you?!" He shouted, offended at another accusation, "I'm not a Daemon! I wouldn't harm anypony or anything!"_

_ **We'll see about that. Remember, I can see everything. And the truth has a way of revealing itself at interesting times.**_

_"Can we PLEASE get on with this?" Celestia snapped, frustrated with the continual bickering._

_ **My apologies, Celestia. Please, proceed.**_

_ The alicorns' horns began to glow, encircling many of the intricately carved gems on the bed. These gems -Fire Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, all of the highest quality- were all carved by the Princesses with magic, shaped into the various bones of the human body. The goddesses arranged them into the shape of a 9-foot skeleton, from the tiniest metacarpal to the skull itself._

_ As the gem-bones were arranged, Celestia, Discord and Luna infused them with magical and Warp energies, allowing them to retain the spiritual powers of the Human God. Kind of like how engineers work on a USB chip to retain programs on a computer. Except that, for a better comparison, this was like downloading the most advanced and powerful AI program **ever** into a potato._

_ The skeleton and the spell, as mentioned earlier, are made to retain huge amounts of energy. However, the Emperor is well known to be the most powerful psyker/ magical entity **that ever lived**. And, compounded with the little detail that the Golden Throne only needed one psyker a day to function, He gains the powers of 999 psykers each and every day, making him even more powerful._

_ (_In fact, it's often been speculated in the Warhammerverse that, should the Throne fail, and the Emperor die, His Apotheosis would make Him the strongest of all Chaos Gods. And, naturally, the resulting Warp Storm made from that would make the Birth of Slaneesh during the Age of Strife look like a small rainstorm in comparison.)

_After about 5 minutes, the bones were properly arranged, and infused with enough energy to stand the strain of holding His Spirit…_

_X)(X)(X_

_ Ah, here are the humans._

The Princesses looked back at the Emperor, as He finished His scans.

"Other humans?" Luna asked, "Do you think… are they from the same place as the 'Master Chief'?"

_One in the same. In fact, both they and the xenos are here for him. Seems that he's quite the heroic figure among them._

"Splendid." Celestia declared, "I'm sure they'll be quite happy with us, when we give him back."

_They'll be even happier when they find out he's still alive. Poor fools went on a mission to recover a dead hero, only to find he was only taking a nap._

"Are they dangerous?"

_Only if you give them a reason to. They didn't come to fight, and only want to pick up the Spartan. That's what they call him, by the way._

"And what about the _Normandy_?"

_Let me see._

Again, He scanned the ship, and Luna returned to the old ritual…

X)(X)(X

_The Emperor's projection, roughly 1/billionth of his total power, tentatively began entering the crystalline skeleton, like a child putting his toes in the water for the first time. _

_ Tendrils of energy came off the Warp orb, slithering into the bones, making them glow with their own illuminations. Magical symbols and markings, made to protect the form from damage, lit up as the spirit energy filled up each vessel. For Adam, it was a strange sensation; although being close to omnipotent and omnipresent in His galaxy, he never had experienced His physical body being two places at the same time._

_ But He was pleased. This was the first step to saving The Imperium, saving Humanity. It was strange, that the galaxy's ultimate hope resided not with mighty warriors or wise and cunning inquisitors, but a trio of xeno god-children._

_ When the projection had fully merged into the skeleton, the eye sockets of the skull lit up with golden light. The Emperor gazed upon the alicorns and Draconequus, and with a tone of gratitude, he said, **Well done, my friends. I believe that the ritual was a success.**_

_Luna jumped with joy, cheering like a little kid. Discord manifested his trademark cotton-candy-chocolate-rain cloud, partaking in a little snack after doing his part. Celestia just smiled, knowing it was a job well done._

_ "Thank you, Adam," Celestia returned, "Now, how long will it take to finish the job."_

_ **That, my dear, is the big question. You have given me an anchor on which to start depositing my soul. However, it will take awhile to finish, considering how much power I have, and how much I keep gaining.**_

_"How long, Adam?" Celestia pressed._

_ **If I were to constantly add energy to this form, as much as I could safely put in without overloading it, I could have it done in… around 3'000 years.**_

_ The god children heard this, and just stared at Him._

_ **I know it seems like a long time-**_

_ "Three THOUSAND years?!" Discord shouted. "We may be immortal, but we don't like waiting around THAT long, you know!"_

_ **Believe you me, Discord, it's longer on my side. While you three have been searching around for that spell for 20 years here, I have been sitting on a chair for 50 years. At that rate, it'll be 11'000 years before I can get out. The machine may not even last that long.**_

_ "We understand, Adam," Celestia put in, "It's just…we're only 100 years old ourselves. So, imagining that we'll have to watch over you for that long a time is… well, a little much for comprehend."_

_ **I realize that, 'Tia. I'm not being ungrateful, I'm just letting you know what you have to prepare for.**_

_"It's okay, Adam," Luna spoke up, "We'll wait for you to grow your new body. In the meantime, maybe you can help us be better Princesses."_

_ **Oh?**_

_"Yeah. You've been alive for, what, forty thousand years? I'm sure you've learned all kinds of things about ruling and leadership. Maybe, to pass the time down here, you can teach us a few tricks."_

_ **You know, Luna, that's actually a wonderful idea. Now that I think about it, it's been awhile since I've had someone to talk to about statesmanship that wasn't taking my orders.**_

_The Emperor became silent, directing His next message to Luna alone. This would become the most important thing He ever said, and the most important thing she ever heard._

_ **Between you and me, Luna, that's why I like you more than your sister. You've always been the smart one of the bunch.**_

_ Luna blushed quite profusely, getting odd looks from Celly and Discord. That was the nicest thing anyone had ever told her…_

_X)(X)(X_

Luna thought back to that moment, and realized that was moment that started her little crush on the Emperor. Its funny how such a small act of kindness could lead completely changing how you look at a person. He may not have known it, and may still not know it, but Adam had stolen her heart.

She would've told Him ages ago, if given a chance of success. On Equestria, interspecies romances were not unheard of or looked down upon. If a gryphon and a Pegasus wanted to be together, or a dragon and a unicorn, there was really nothing stopping them from doing so. Hell, she was pretty sure that Celestia and Discord had a fling before he got turned to stone.

But, she didn't. It wasn't so much that she didn't think He would accept (although Luna never asked Adam what He thought about Equestrian ways), so much as that she knew His people never would. "_Suffer not the xeno to live_", and all that. He could push them to not kill all the ponies when they arrived, but He wouldn't make them try to allow intermingling. Luna understood, and suffered in silence.

Adam had just finished His scan of the _Normandy,_ and chuckled.

_Ah, this is an interesting one._

"How so?"

_A couple of things. It's a ship made by a secretive terrorist group, piloted by a galactic hero. There are a couple xenos onboard, but all serve as the hero's entourage. The ship itself has few weapons, but the crew has weapons all over the place. They have psychic soldiers that aren't psykers. But the funniest part is that one of the xenos is a fan of your people._

The sisters exchanged a look. "What do you mean by that?"

_I'll have to explain that at a later time. However, the point is that out of all the coming ships, this particular ship is the least threatening._

"So," Celestia asked, "Should I still go through with the plan? Let the other nations know?"

_Might as well. You can't keep this thing secret for long. And, more importantly, we should all get ready for when __**They**__ show up._

"Very well. I'll make a few calls." Celestia teleported out, leaving Luna with the Emperor.

_Here's your chance,_ Luna thought desperately,_ Tell Him how you feel before it gets too crazy, while you still have a chance!_

"So, uh, Adam," She started, having no idea how to say what she wanted.

_Yes?_ The Emperor questioned.

Luna looked into His eyes, the golden orbs now a startling shade of cerulean. She could feel the absolutely immense psychic presence, which made even Chaos Gods think twice before troubling Him. And she noticed, for the first time, the barest hint of a smile, which could teach a lesson or two to what Celestia could pull off.

She saw all this… and completely chickened out.

Covering for herself, she said, "How's your body feeling?"

Adam could tell that that wasn't what she was originally going to say, but decided not to press it. _Its feeling wonderful,_ He answered, _I've put enough of my power in here to live again. In a little more than a month, I'll finally be walking._

Luna smiled, and risked putting a hoof on His arm. "I can't wait to see that."

_Neither do I._

With that, the Princess took her leave, teleporting out. The Emperor's fingers twitched, almost making a fist. _Indeed,_ He mused, _Almost ready…_

* * *

**A/N 2: This was probably the most humorus chapter I've done so far, but still has little bits of grimdark to show for things to come. Next chapter is when we finally have full contact between the off-worlders and the ponies. Won't _that_ be fun? ;)**

**As always, please R&R, or leave a comment in the section below.**


	4. 3 Contact Ponyville

Chapter 3: Contact at Ponyville

* * *

"_If any of you [soldiers] wanted to see an alien up close and personal, today's gonna be your lucky day."- Srgt. Mjr. A.J. Johnson, veteran of Halo 04_

_Airspace above Equestria_

_June 24th, 0750 hours_

It was just the break of dawn as the three drop ships began their descent. Two UNSC Pelicans and a newly upgraded CAR Phantom entered the atmosphere as a trio of contrails in the morning light. Coming from the east, only a few scattered monsters from the Everfree Forest happened to see them. By the time they approached the edges of civilization, the ships were at low altitude, and had fully engaged their stealth systems. These systems, put in about 2 years ago, fully masked visible and infrared light, as well as muffled any sound made from the engines.

They stopped over a clearing, about 2 kilometers east of the nearest settlement. Hovering at a safe distance near the ground, the three squads got off, setting foot on a new world. The away team was a mixture of all important races from their universe- 18 humans, 10 Uggnoy, 6 Sanghelli, 6 Jiralhanae, 5 Hame'e and 5 Kig-Yar. All the troops were only slightly armed, not wanting to scare away the locals with overwhelming firepower.

Among the teams were Alan, Cassius and N'tho. Vasquez was in the standard issue Mark IV Marine Armor, a suit heavily influenced by the ODSTs, complete with its own minor shield generator. Armed with a M392 DMR and M6G Magnum, he stood as the leader for both squads. His squad would be the one assigned to look for any possible entrance to the mountain, as the Chief's ship may have exited slipspace in a cave.

N'tho bore his specialized Spec. Ops armor. His red and silver suit was all pointed and angular, and his helmet covered his head in a three-pronged mask. But what made it so special was its active camo ability, rendering the user invisible for up to five minutes at a time. Armed with the old Covenant Carbine and the Energy Sword passed down from his ancestors, his squad of Sanghelli would be the forward scouts of the operation, keeping an eye out for any hostiles or friendlies (if there were any of either).

Cassius wore his gold armor, identifying him as the leader of the pack. Armed with a Spike Pistol and a Needle Rifle, he served as the leader for most of the CAR forces. The Grunts, Jackals and Drones, although capable of leading themselves when they had to, usually fell back to the old ways of the Covenant, which mainly involved just obeying the orders of Brutes or Elites, and promptly going crazy when they were killed.

As soon as everyone was on the ground, the Sanghelli troops turned invisible and filtered into the dense, almost jungle-like forest. The Drones took to the skies, hovering just over the treetops for aerial cover. The Brutes, Grunts, humans and Jackals all spread out, and began heading east through the forest, as the shuttle go back to their ships. They were on their own for now, the first humans and aliens on an unknown world.

* * *

_Sweet Apple Acres, east of Ponyville_

_1 day after Pinkie's Attack_

_8:30 A.M._

Applejack stood on the porch of her house, enjoying the morning sun and scent of apples on the wind. Today was going to be a good day; she could feel it in her gut.

She looked over the entirety of her farm, and took pride in having the best apple farm in Equestria. It had actually been confirmed by the Princesses, when she was asked to cater for the Royal Wedding a few months ago. Although most of the accolades went to her, she knew that her harvest wouldn't be so amazing without her friends and family.

The Element of Honesty adjusted her cowboy hat as her brother, Big Macintosh, came outside beside her.

"Ready for another day's work?" She asked the big red stallion.

"Eeyep." He replied. Big Mac wasn't much of a talker.

"Looks like it'll be a bumper crop this year." The orange mare observed.

"Eeyep. Bigger than last year?"

"Much bigger. Ah may need to bring the girls in on this again."

"Can Ah help ya, big sis?" A little voice inquired.

Applejack looked down, and smiled at her little sister, Applebloom. "Sure, sugar cube," She told her, "We're going to need all the help we can get."

"Great," The yellow filly cheered, "Maybe I should bring in Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. That way, one of us can get a cutie mark in apple farming, or somethin'."

AJ shook her head. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, or the "Cutie Mark Crusaders", as they called themselves, were all dead set on discovering their cutie marks, their calling in life. A cutie mark was an image or symbol that appears on a pony's flank around adolescence, indicating their destiny and special talent. Since most fillies their age had already received their cutie marks, they were willing to try anything- even stupid stuff like paragliding or arguing- to get them. It was cute, in an annoying way.

"I'm sure you will, sis," AJ assured her, "In the meantime, we should probably get started on-"

"Oh my gosh," Applebloom cried out, eyes wide in astonishment, "What the Hay are THOSE?!"

Big Mac and AJ looked to where their sister was pointing, and gasped.

Over in one of their apple trees, five giant bug things were eating the fruits of their labor, devouring and collecting apples all over the tree. They were massive, easily the size of a pony, all green and brown and scaly, holding weird circle things that glowed green. They chattered to each other in insect-like screeches and squeals, acting remarkably intelligent.

But most of that didn't register to the Earth ponies. Two things did, though: 1), These were giant bugs, almost like parasprites or changelings, and 2), they were stealing and eating their livelihood. Something they had worked months upon months for absolute quality.

"Git away from mah trees, yah varmints!" Applejack cried out, charging the bugs with her siblings in tow. The insects looked at the fast approaching ponies, seeming quite puzzled. As if they've never seen talking ponies before. When the farmers reached the tree, Applejack and Big Mac went to kicking and bucking the tree, while Applebloom used her tail to throw rocks. The bugs flew into the air, nonplussed by the turn of events.

One of them pointed the metallic circle at them, as if to threaten them. But then another bug, this one painted red, screeched at it, making the bug lower its weapon. The five giant insects flew away, heading for the Everfree Forest, carrying off a hefty payload of apples. AJ wasn't going to let them get away.

"Come on, Big Mac," She said, eyes on the horizon, "Let's go get those rats with wings."

"Eeyep."

"I wanna git 'em, too, sis." Applebloom put in, looking rather excited.

"No, Applebloom," She countermanded, "You have to go git Twilight back in town. Somthin' tells me that these ain't ordinary bugs." While she did want her friends' help, she mainly wanted the little filly away from the farm. Those locusts looked like they could carry her off easily, and she couldn't live with herself if something happened to her.

Applebloom looked at the retreating Drones, and had the same thought go through her head. "Okay," She murmured, and ran off to town. Her older siblings continued galloping across their farm, unknowingly into the away team from the Haloverse…

* * *

_Location unknown_

_0840 hours_

Getting through the forest was intriguing, to say the least. This world had much in the way of… diverse flora and fauna.

Twice, the team had to stop, as the Sanghelli spotted two different types of mega fauna: One was a Hunter-sized feline creature, with vestigial bat wings and a scorpion's tail. The other was a six-headed lizard creature with no arms, easily the size of a 3-story building. Fortunately, the creatures never noticed the soldiers, and continued about their business.

After about half an hour, the soldiers found themselves out of the forest, and in what appeared to be some kind of orchard. The Drones were assigned to go scout ahead and look for local inhabitants, and quickly flew off. The Elites turned off their active camo, and joined all the other soldiers as they regrouped around the trees.

To Alan, these trees seemed oddly similar to apple trees. Very similar, in fact. Same general size, same shaped fruit, same _colored_ fruit. They even _smelled_ the same, as the scent brought back memories of his childhood farm in Kentucky. He said as much to Cassius and N'tho, who couldn't say anything on the subject because they've never seen an apple tree before.

"Ah tell ya, though," Vasquez continued, "The resemblance is uncanny." He brought out his combat knife, and began to peel the skin off the fruit.

"What're you doing?" Cassius asked, concerned. "You're not going to _eat _that, are you?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Because, human," N'tho hissed, "We're on an unexplored alien planet, with who knows what kind of biology and chemistry. For all we know, while that fruit may _look_ like an apple, it may be more like a deadly fungus, and will kill you the moment you taste it."

"Oh, bitch please. This planet doesn't have any crazy biology. We're here talking without any hard suits or medical upgrades. This planet is just like a Forerunner installation: all pretty and clean, no health risks."

"Alan-"

Before either of them could stop him, the Sergeant took a bite out of the apple. Instantly, his eyes went wide, he staggered against the tree, and exclaimed "Oh, _Holy Crap__!_" His friends rushed to him, holding him up. "Alan, you okay?" Cassius.

"Oh boy, am I." He groaned. That wasn't just an apple; that was _the_ best damn apple he ever tasted. The sheer sensory overload from that one bite was almost too much. "Dudes, you gotta try this!"

Cassius took a bite, and had the exact same reaction with his apple. Other soldiers, watching this transpire, each took an apple from the trees, and were eating them ecstatically. The only ones not eating were the Grunts (who, being methane breathers, couldn't take off their rebreathers) and the Elites (who had mandible mouths, and were having difficulty biting into the fruit). The Drones returned at this time, carrying a large bag full of apples, which were to be taken back to the ships.

While everyone snacked, N'tho wondered aloud, "You know, this orchard seems to be pretty organized and extensive. You'd think the owners would be drawn to all our commotion."

"Yeah," Alan stated, "Where the hell are the natives?"

"Who're You and what're Y'all doin' on Mah farm?!" A voice demanded, angry and authoritative and completely unexpected. The team of soldiers drew their weapons on instinct, aiming at the source, and were completely dumbfounded at the sight of the aliens.

In front of them were two brightly colored equines, standing between 4 and 5 feet tall. The larger one was bright red in color, with green eyes and an orange mane and tail. The smaller one was a shade of orange, with the same green eyes and blonde-yellow mane and tail. They both had what appeared to be tattoos on their flank (the red one had a sliced apple, and the orange one had a three-apple design), and the little one had a very familiar looking Stetson cowboy hat. And both of them looked mightily pissed off.

From Applejack and Big Mac's perspective, it was like the worst denizens of Tartarus had escaped and raided their farm. At least 50 weird looking monsters were standing in front of her aiming some weird instruments at them. All these creatures were tall (for most ponies), bipedal, and wearing what appeared to be some kind of armor. They looked intimidating, but the Apple family wasn't the type that got scared easy.

So, Applejack repeated herself; "Ah said, What're y'all doin' here?"

A Sanghelli- no one knows who- then exclaimed, "By the Rings, it's a talking pony!" From that, the off-worlders broke out in uproarious laughter. Even the Uggnoy, who weren't much bigger than Applejack herself, joined in. Seeing something that small, that freaking _cute_, acting all tough and badass, was the funniest thing ever. Naturally, Applejack didn't take to kindly to that.

"Now, what's so darned funny? Its like you've never seen a pony before."

While the soldiers continued to snicker in a way uncharacteristic of them, Vasquez had a two-part realization. One, this unknown alien was somehow speaking reasonably good English. And secondly, what was actually more surprising, was _how_ she spoke.

"Damn," He exclaimed, getting everyone's attention, "That thing is speakin' Mah accent!"

This got the aliens and other troops to stop laughing, and return to being professional. AJ used this moment to get to scold them. "Ah don't know where you fellas come from, but 'round these parts, fellas don't go around taking apples off a tree without asking or paying for 'em."

"Eeyup," Big Mac agreed, the first time he spoke so far.

The visitors looked at the trees, and the apples that they still held, and realized they had been raiding this native's farm. In the history of first contacts, there have been plenty that went better than this. But at least they hadn't shot each other yet, so this was still salvageable.

Vasquez, although not the commanding officer, took charge of the situation. "Ahem," He started, "Our apologies, miss…?"

"Name's Applejack," The orange pony (who definitely sounded feminine) told him, "This is my brother Big Macintosh, and _this_," She gestured to all the trees, "Is Sweet Apple Acres, home of the best apples in all of Equestria."

"I'll say!" A human called out from the back of the crowd. This was joined by a choir of "Damn straight!" and "Hell yeah!" The CAR operatives gave various grunts and whistles of their own approval. The earth pony looked away and smiled, properly flattered.

"Any way," Alan continued, silencing them, "Miss Applejack, we weren't aware that anyone owned this farm, and we will pay back all the apples we took today."

"Fair enough. Will you make those giant bugs of yours apologize too?"

Vasquez looked at the Drones, who were up one of the trees looking not the least bit guilty or caring. He'd have Cassius talk to them later.

"Sure," He answered, "In the meantime, is there someone nearby that we could talk to? Your leader, perhaps?" Later, Vasquez would say that was the only way he could avoid the cliché "Take me to your leader" trope. At least the ponies hadn't figured out they had weapons on them, yet.

AJ thought for a moment. The Princesses were way up in Canterlot, and she didn't trust Mayor Mare with a sack of beans. Her friend Twilight, however, had a direct line to Celestia, was close by, and was the smartest pony she knew. If anypony knew what to do in this situation, it would be her.

Smiling, she responded, "I know somepony you can talk to…"

* * *

_Atmosphere above Ponyville_

_0900 hours_

Cmdr. Matt Shepard, Miranda Lawson and Garrus Vakarian were onboard the automated shuttle, making their descent to the new world. It wasn't something necessarily new for the squad, as they had been on distant and undeveloped worlds before. But, still, any away mission held a tiny bit of excitement, the taste of discovery was always heavy in the air.

Scans of the planet had shown to have a breathable atmosphere, so the team didn't have to wear rebreather masks. However, having such a diverse and prolific biosphere probably meant there were lots of potential predators and mega fauna, so they still came fully armored and loaded. If worse came to worse, the team could always shoot and blast their way out of any sticky situation.

When the shuttle finally landed, Shepard looked to his comrades. "Ready?" He asked. "Ready." They both replied.

"Alright. Let's roll."

The shuttle door opened up, and the three fighters exited with guns raised. They got about five steps out before they stopped, utterly shocked by their surroundings.

The shuttle had landed in a forest clearing, relatively close to a small dirt road. What was weird was that the plants- the grass, the trees, even the flowers- all looked strange, almost… cartoony. Nearby, birds were chirping, not in a random manner, but almost as if they were a choir singing a tune. Even the air itself felt happy and carefree, if that was possible.

"Damn," Lawson observed, "Feels like I just walked onto the set of a Disney movie."

"Yeah," Garrus murmured his agreement, "Sure seems that way." He was silently freaking out, as he looked over his surroundings, more and more convinced that this world was the one he and thousands of other people used to see.

_ Get a hold of yourself, Garrus,_ He ordered himself, _This __**isn't**__ Equestria! Sure, the sun and moon are the same size, and everything looks almost animated, but that doesn't mean that you're on a kid's show turned real! There has to be a logical explanation to all this._

The Turian's thoughts were interrupted, as Shepard declared, "Well, you don't see _that_ everyday." As the humans stared in wonder, Vakarian looked at the view, and his jaw dropped in amazement.

They reached the end of the forest, and the road had reached the top of a hill. It offered a breath-taking view of the entire region. Off in the distance, a magnificent castle-city resided on the side of a mountain, looking like the cover of a fantasy novel. Further off, floating in the air like an insult to logic and physics, was an entire city _made of clouds_. Some of them were even spewing rainbows like industrial waste.

_Well, that confirms it._ Garrus thought. _That castle is Canterlot, that cloud city is Cloudsdale, and this world is Equestria._ Mentally, he was on the verge of a panic attack and a nerdgasm, but the only sign of change was that he gripped his sniper rifle tighter.

"Huh," Lawson mused, "A castle on a mountain, a floating cloud city. All we need is a fire-breathing dragon or a wizard, and we have ourselves a fantasy world."

Shepard snickered. "Maybe they'll be a knight riding a unicorn further on, off to save a damsel in distress, or toss a ring into a volcano."

"Or a Pegasus breaking the sound barrier." Garrus wondered aloud.

"What was that?" Shepard asked.

"Nothing. We should get going."

The humans nodded, and the squad got moving again. But while Miranda and Matt were scanning the horizon, Garrus kept his eyes on the sky…

* * *

_Rainbow Dash's house, north of Ponyville_

_8:55 A.M._

The sun was rising on another beautiful day in Ponyville. Light from Celestia's sun filtered through the window of Dash's house, settling on her face, and waking her from her slumber. Opening her magenta-colored eyes, she stretched and yawned, looking around her room as she tried to remember… something.

_Something was supposed to happen today,_ She thought wearily,_ But what was it? What was it?_ She extended her wings, and began flying to the kitchen, when she realized that Gilda was sharing a spot on her bed. She stopped in midair, and tilted her head in confusion. _How did that happen? I don't remember drinking or… anything like that happening last night._

Rainbow scratched her head, going over what happened yesterday. After Pinkie's outbreak, Trixie and Gilda sat her and Twilight down, and told them about how the Princesses selected them. A story about meeting in a forest, surviving a starship's crash, finding a suit of armor, and being found by the alicorns. While they trained under their tutelage, Celestia and Luna told them about the universe, and about the existence of aliens. They didn't know for sure, but Gilda felt that these visitors were coming for the armor.

Whatever the case may be, the four of them spent most of the night preparing for dealing with the aliens. They had talked until midnight, when Dash and Gilda finally went home. RD smiled as she finally remembered why the griffon was in her bed; It had rained a few days ago, and the guest room was still leaking. Dash allowed her friend to share the bed, just like they used to back during Flight School. It's actually pretty comfy, liking having a huge feathery pillow.

It was also where all those rumors of being a "filly-fooler", or a lesbian, originated from. It still pissed her off. Just because she had a rainbow mane and tail and was an athletic tomboy didn't mean she went that way (most of the time, anyway). Yeah, Gilda and her had a fling, but she was the only serious one and they didn't even go that far. She had been with just as many stallions -if not more so- than with mares (which is not as many as ponies would think).

She shook her head of those thoughts, and tapped the griffon's side. "Wake up, sleepyhead," Dash teased, "We've got work to do."

Gilda opened her eyes, seeing her favorite Pegasus hovering above her. She smiled, remembering the night before. "Do we have to get up now?" She moaned, "The sun just got up, and this bed of yours is hella comfy."

"I'm not a morning person either," Dash told her, "But we've got a long day ahead of us, and we need to get started."

The griffon stretched herself out, and rolled off the cloud bed. They went to the kitchen, having a small meal while keeping an eye on the sky. About five minutes later, they were both prepped and ready to head out.

They had opened the front door just in time to see a bright black-and-white object come down from the sky, landing out near the Everfree Forest. "Looks like its starting," Gilda announced.

"Was that what you saw?" Dash asked.

"Nope. The ship was much, _much_ bigger, and much louder. I'll check it out."

"No," Rainbow protested, "I'll go. You need to go tell Twilight and Trixie that they've arrived. I can stay high, do a little spying, and be right back by the time you reach them. Besides," She took a pose, "I'm small and blue and the fastest Pegasus alive. They'll never see me or catch me."

Gilda couldn't argue with that logic, but still didn't feel okay with Dash going by herself. But, knowing her, she wouldn't let her come along anyway now. "Just be careful," She cautioned, "I'd hate to see you get hurt, and have to fly you all over town."

"Don't worry," Rainbow laughed, "I'll be fine." Giving her friend a quick peck on her forehead, she flew off, calling out "See you in twenty minutes!" Gilda watched her streak through the sky, and then began flying to Ponyville…

* * *

_Location unknown_

_0915 hours_

"What the hell is that?" Miranda pointed to a strange blue dot with a rainbow streak, fast approaching the trio. Shepard had a puzzled look on his face. "That's new."

_Oh, crap,_ Garrus thought, _Please don't be who I think it is._

The away team had been traveling on the road for a few minutes, observing the surrounding countryside. Although there were a few fences and scattered houses, there hadn't been any sign of intelligent life around. It had occurred to them that maybe most of the inhabitants may have been in town, having a religious service or festival of some kind. This object was the first indication of life they'd seen so far.

"Garrus," Shepard asked, "Can you get a better view of that thing?" The Turian nodded, and drew his sniper rifle out. Getting a bead on the blur, he zoomed in on the incoming projectile.

The high-speed flying object was blue- not sky-blue, but cyan. It was not a missile or a bird, but rather a small equine with wings, flying faster than should be physically possible. The rainbow streak being produced was because of the multicolored mane and tail, somehow staining the air temporarily with its brilliance. The flying creature- a Pegasus, for lack of a better term- looked right back at Garrus with his rifle, allowing him to see its eyes. They were magenta, and held an air of curiosity and confidence that could be felt a mile away.

He lowered his rifle. The only thing he could say was, "Well, fuck me, it's a Pegasus."

"Wait a minute," Shepard questioned, "A Pegasus? How? Look how fast it's going?!"

"It's probably just some kind of local animal with biotic powers." Lawson mused, "Some planets contaminated by Element Zero have creatures gifted with psychic abilities." She watched the creature for a moment, and then thought aloud, "We should grab that one and take it back to the ship. I'm sure that Mordin would love to study it."

"What're you-" Before either Garrus or Matt could finish that statement, Miranda used a Pull on the creature, just as it passed overhead. The Pegasus was surrounded in a bright blue aura, and at breakneck speeds came crashing down behind them. Smacking into a tree, it fell onto the ground with a solid "thunk".

"What're you doing?!" Garrus shouted. "Jesus, Miranda," Shepard barked, "Give us a freaking warning before you do that!"

"Calm down, you two. I just knocked it unconscious. We can call back the shuttle and get off this rock in a couple of minutes."

"Still," Garrus countered, "You shouldn't have done that. This could be one of the native sentients around here for all we know."

"What makes you say that?"

"Check out the markings on its ass." He gestured to the unconscious form with his gun. The Pegasus- indeed, up close it looked like a 4-foot tall flying pony- had a matching pair of rainbow thunderbolts on its flanks. Matt, puzzled, pointed out, "Hey Garrus, those tattoos look a lot like your scar."

"Yeah, I know." _By the Spirits,_ He thought, _This HAS to be Rainbow Dash… What if we killed her?_

Rainbow was slowly regaining consciousness, emitting a moan of discomfort. The team froze- She should've still been out, having hit that tree at 50 miles per hour _minimum._ Opening her eyes, she looked at the aliens that attacked her. Two of them looked like weird, hairless monkeys, one in heavy armor and one in some kind of jumpsuit with a flowing mane of some kind. The third alien was a bizarre cross between a bird and a reptile, wearing armor and having small side mandibles and face paint.

The back of her mind realized that this was the first contact between Ponykind and these visitors, and should be handled delicately. But she ignored that part, and instead got mad. "Hey," She shouted at them, "Why'd you hit me?!"

Again, the trio was stunned. The Pegasus spoke- in a rough feminine voice- and it was in English! Or, at least, they all could understand her! How that was possible without an asari mind-meld or translators was beyond any of them. They looked at each other, and Shepard dared to ask, "Can you… understand us?"

"Well, duh," Dash snarked, "Of course I can understand you. Again, why did you pull me down?"

"Sorry about that," Miranda apologized, "We thought you were some animal."

"Yeah, but I'm not. I'm Rainbow Dash, and I'm a Pegasus."

"Yeah, we can see that." Garrus chuckled. "Rainbow mane, super-speed, 'Dashing' good looks. The name's self-explanatory." His human friends gave him strange looks. His flattery, however, was definitely what was needed to defuse the situation, and it certainly won Dash over.

"Yeah," She mused, striking a pose, "I am pretty awesome. Anyways, I'm no expert in this sci-fi stuff, but I believe I'm supposed to take you to my leader."

"If you'd like." Shepard demurred.

"Right. Well, the Princesses are _waaay_ up in Canterlot, that big castle on the mountain. However, my friend Twilight has a direct line to them, and is right in town. I can take you there, if you want."

"Yeah, that's probably best. Lead the way."

The Pegasus took to the sky, flying slow enough to keep the aliens close by. Shepard, Lawson and Vakarian exchanged looks, and followed her down the road. In more ways than one, this day was getting better and better…

* * *

_Twilight's Library, Ponyville_

_9:30 A.M._

Twilight and Trixie sat at the table in the kitchen, going over their notes about aliens over a cup of tea. They were slowly going out of their morning funk, but operating with only 6 hours of sleep can be difficult. But today was definitely the day to push through it, for today was the day that Equestria at large found out it wasn't alone in the universe. Today, they make contact.

"Okay," Twilight spoke, "So remind me again how we're going to communicate with them? For all we know, they could speak some kind of binary telepathically."

"Simple, my dear Twilight," Trixie responded, "We just talk to them as we would with dragons, griffons or other ponies. They must have a language we can understand, as Gilda and I could understand their writing just fine. If worse comes to worse, and they speak in a way we can't replicate or understand, we could just communicate through writing."

"I just want this to go well," The purple mare said, "I really don't like Pinkie's premonition about war coming. Having to deal with the Changeling Invasion during my brother's wedding was more than enough for me."

Trixie took another sip, before asking, "Did Pinkie say when or where the aliens would show?"

"Not really. She only said that they would be here today, and that they were coming here for someone. Probably that suit of armor you two found."

"I sure hope so. I don't know what else it would be."

It was then that Spike came in with their breakfast- daisy bagels and jam, typical Equestrian food. While placing it on the table, Twilight chuckled. "Hey Spike, what happened to that apron I gave you?"

"You mean the pink frilly one with the heart in the middle?" He clarified. "I threw it away. It was _waaay_ too girly for me."

"You gave him a pink apron?" Trixie questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, she did," The dragon continued. "It's not like I don't mind pink, it can be masculine and cool, _sometimes_. But the frilling, the big heart; It was basically screaming, 'Hey, everypony, I'm Spike and I'm gay.'"

"There's nothing wrong with being a filly-fooler or a colt-cuddler." Trixie protested, casting a sideways glance at the other unicorn in the room. Spike momentarily wondered what that implied.

"True, but there's a difference between _being_ gay and _acting_ gay. I mean, look at Lyra and Bon-Bon. They're not-"

Before the dragon could finish, there was a knocking at the door. The two unicorns looked at him expectantly. He sighed, and walked over to open the door. As he did, a yellow-and-red blur rushed past him into the library. It was Applebloom, looking sweaty and exhausted from running all across town.

"Twilight," The filly called out, "Applejack needs you right now!"

"Why? What happened?"

"There's a bunch of giant insects eating up all our apples! They were huge, Ah tell yuh, HUGE!"

"Easy there, Applebloom," Trixie soothed, "Calm yourself. Now, what did they look like?"

"Well," Applebloom caught her breath, "There was five of 'em, and they're big. As big as you are with your hat. And they were all green with long, skinny arms, and they screeched at each other all funny, and one of them aimed a ring at Applejack, and they were taking our apples-"

"Wait," Trixie interrupted, "It aimed a ring at AJ? Did it fire?"

"No, a bigger one with red wings called to it, and they all flew away. But we should hurry, 'cause AJ and Big Mac went after 'em, and they wanted me to go git Twilight an' you, so-"

Suddenly, the front door was kicked open. Gilda charged in, and hovered above them, panting from the speedy flight. "Twilight," The griffon gasped out, "You gotta come quick! The aliens have arrived in the Everfree Forest!"

Twilight paled, looking more worried and confused. "But- But-" She stammered, "AJ is dealing with the aliens at the farm. There can't be more of them, right?"

Gilda looked dumbstruck. "What do you mean? Dash and I saw a shuttle land in the forest 20 minutes ago."

"Where is Rainbow, anyway?"

"She sent me ahead to come find you, while she went overhead to scout them. Twi, we _really _need to get going. I don't feel good leaving her on her own."

"Rainbow Dash can handle herself," Applebloom countered, "She's the bestest flyer in Ponyville. But those giant bugs looked mighty dangerous. We really need you at the farm."

Twilight was uncertain as to how to proceed. Should she help Applejack, who had no idea on what's going on; or should she help Rainbow Dash, whose brash and confrontational personality was bound to cause an interstellar incident?

"I…I think we should-" She started, but was interrupted when Pinkie came in from the kitchen. "Hey, guys," Pinkie said, all bubbly and nonchalant, "My Pinkie Sense went off again this morning. The aliens are coming here today."

"Pinkie," Twilight told her, annoyed, "We already know. AJ and Rainbow Dash have already met them."

"Oh, _those_ aliens," The Earth Pony responded, as if remembering something vaguely important, "No, they weren't the ones I was talking about yesterday. Completely different."

The others in the room went "Huh?", a united statement of confusion. The pink mare giggled. "See," She answered, "There's actually _three_ groups of aliens coming here today; One that Trixie and Gilda know about, one that the Princesses know about, and one that's completely unexpected."

"Which is which, though?" Twilight asked. "Are any of them dangerous?"

"Well, they _all_ can be dangerous, but only if you make them so. The first and last ones are already here, so you should deal with them, first."

"What about the third one?"

"They'll be landing by Fluttershy's house, but-"

"FLUTTERSHY?!" They others cried out. It's a well-documented fact that Fluttershy, while being the nicest pony in Ponyville, was also the most introverted, fearful -and, well, shy- pony any of them knew. Hell, half the time the poor girl was afraid of her own shadow, and had shown signs of a backbone only under _the _most intense of circumstances. The prospect of the little Pegasus having to deal with possibly big scary aliens immediately put the Equestrians on the defensive.

"We've got to go help her!" Twilight declared. "Trixie, Gilda, I want you to-"

"Don't worry, Twilight," Pinkie interrupted, giving her a reassuring smile, "Fluttershy's got this handled. We have other things to worry about…"

* * *

_1000 hours_

_Over Everfree Forest_

_Thought of the day: Weakness is a disease of the body. Despair is a disease of the mind._

The shuttle from the _Emperor's_ _Wrath_, the _Carpe Diem_, descended from the sky like a regal bird of prey. The shuttle, besides the roar of the engines outside, was unnaturally quiet, its passengers unnervingly silent.

Normally, when troops were brought down from a ship to a xeno planet, the various soldiers and peoples of the Imperium would be chanting the litanies of warriors, or prayers to the Emperor, to purify their souls for upcoming combat. But this was different. There were no chants for soldiers, for there was to be no fighting. There were no prayers to the Emperor, for soon enough they could be voiced to His face. Without either of these, what was left for them to say?

The squad of 20 Guardsmen talked amongst themselves, wondering if these "ponies" were as peaceful and friendly as their master said they were. The ten-man Assault squad of the Ultramarines checked their weapons once more, even though they weren't to use them for this mission. Magos Kriel fiddled with his plasma pistol, as even the "newer" versions always had to be properly maintained, lest they blow off your hand. Inquisitor Creighton mentally went over his prepared speech and strategy for when he met this "Twilight Sparkle" -For her to be a chosen apprentice of a xeno deity would mean she was formidable both physically _and_ mentally.

They were still in good spirits with the mission. Before they left the ship, the Inquisitor spoke with the Librarian of the Imperial Fists, a powerful psyker and skilled oracle. Through use of visions, the Tarot cards, and the knucklebones (a tradition and a habit of the Sons of Dorn), he ordained that the crew and soldiers were in good graces. In fact, he said that he had never had visions and signs that looked so favorably. The only warning given was this: _Beware the Eyes of Madness_. Neither of them could figure out what that meant, but trusted that it would be discovered in due time.

After flying for about half an hour, the shuttle finally gave a shudder as it touched down on the alien world. The Imperials got out of their seats as the door opened. As the ramp lowered and the troops filed out, they scanned the surrounding wilderness, and couldn't help but feel… happy.

The forest in itself, while still emanating the sense of feral intensity, had a feel of both beauty and contentedness. The birds in the trees and the animals of the ground called out in nature's music, uncaring or unbothered by the fire-tested warriors in their midst. And furthermore, those individuals who were slightly more in touch with the Warp could feel it, and were in awe in the fact that, at least in this place, felt not only calm, but also _joyful_. This place, for all intents and purposes, was opposite of their universe in almost every way.

Some of the more devout Guardsmen made the sign of the Aquila over their chest as the group began heading away from the shuttle. While the away team secured the clearing, scanning the forest for anything even slightly threatening, Creighton and Kriel got together, speaking about the strange world.

"Tell me, Magos," The Inquisitor asked, "Does this place look a little… strange to you, or is it just my eyes?"

"I'm afraid I can see it on my sensors as well," The cyborg replied, "The trees, the animals, even the sky looks, well, rather _flat._ True, everything appears colorful and vibrant, but it all seems akin to a very talented artist's drawings. If you look close enough at that rodent over there, you can clearly see it has an _outline_."

The Inquisitor looked to where the tech-priest gestured, and saw that indeed a squirrel was staring at them with a thin black line surrounding its body. The sight was only slightly off-putting, as the Inquisitor remembered that they were in a different universe (not to mention that he had seen the vids of worlds consumed by Tyranids and Chaos- nothing is scarier than that).

When it realized that the two aliens were looking back at it, the creature chattered and ran into the underbrush. Although that might have been from the giant armored Space Marine that was walking in its direction.

The Space Marine in question approached the tech priest and inquisitor, and said, "Milords, the perimeter is secure. We can proceed to our destination."

"Very well, Sergeant Longinus," Creighton replied, "The town lies in the west. Let us make haste."

The Astartes nodded, and signaled to his battle-brothers and the Guardsmen, and together, the Imperials made their way through the forest. The animals, all of whom having rudimentary intelligence and a sixth sense for predators, either cleared way for them, or ran away as quickly as possible…

* * *

_Fluttershy's Cottage_

_10:30 A.M._

Fluttershy began her day as she usually did, by feeding all the animals under her care. As an animal caretaker, her job (if you could call it that) was to watch over and heal all the woodland critters, and as such they all found her place to be a sanctuary when there was danger afoot in the forest.

So imagine her surprise when dozens of creatures were not only heading to her place, but they were also running _past_ her as well, heading every possible direction _except_ east.

Her teal eyes were marked with confusion, as all the animals ran away without even bothering to talk to her. Not even dragons or hydras made the _entire forest_ flee at one time. "Oh my," She spoke in her low, whispering voice, "I wonder what could've scared them. What do you think, Angel Bunny? Angel?"

Looking for the pet rabbit in question, she saw that he was hiding in his little house, shaking like a leaf. This genuinely worried the meek Pegasus, as usually _nothing_ scared her furry protector. She knew now that she should leave, to go get her friends Twilight and Rainbow, and let them handle it.

But she was not going to leave without her bunny.

Unfortunately, her pet was a complete butt-hole, and had plans of his own.

As soon as Fluttershy reached for the white rabbit, he threw a carrot at her face, and promptly ran between her legs, into the tall grass behind her. "Angel, come back!" she called out, but even if he could respond, he wasn't going to. She couldn't believe what she was seeing; everything she cared for was running away in terror, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She was just on the cusp of tears when she felt it There was a subtle change in the air; a wispy scent of metal, and the feeling of an approaching predator. The Pegasus could a large commotion heading to her, a terrifying thumping sound emanating from the forest. It was akin to the encounter with the Hydra, only many more than one were coming. She saw the trees and bushes rustle, then finally fall out of the way. Fluttershy looked at the new opening, and did all she could not to scream…

* * *

_Location: East of Ponyville_

_1040 hours_

The walk out of the forest was the easiest task any of the Imperials had undertaken. Clearly, the local fauna recognized true predators when they saw them, and gave them clear passage. What was calculated to be a half-hour sojourner turned into a brisk ten-minute stroll. When they finally got out of the forest, they found a breath-taking sight.

Way out on the horizon, they humans could see a majestic castle on the side of a mountain, with waterfalls pouring out beneath it. In the sky, a veritable cloud city, stylized in what they perceived as Macraggian architecture, was spouting out rainbows and storm clouds. And in the mid-ground of this panorama, looking like a picturesque village from a children's story, was most certainly their destination: Ponyville.

The Guardsmen gazed upon the vista, genuinely awestruck by the beauty of this xeno planet. One of them, Corporal Faber, asked the Inquisitor, "Have you ever seen such a sight before, my lord?"

"I will admit, Corporal," Creighton mused, also looking at the scene, "I have not. But keep your men on guard. When things look their best, that's usually when it's at its worst."

"Of course, sir." The Guardsman said, and returned to his troops. The Inquisitor then turned to his left, and found that the Space Marines had managed to sneak up on him. How they managed to do that when their power armor boots made so much noise was beyond. Naturally, Mendel was too cool a customer to be scared easily.

"See that small cottage over there by the creek?" Longinus asked him, pointing to the small building near them. It was indeed petite and low to the ground, as if trying purposefully to avoid detection. If it weren't for the well-trained eyes of the Astartes, it would've been quite possible that the humans would've walked past it, and never know it was there.

"I do now."

"It seems that there's a Pegasus dwelling here."

"What makes you say that?"

Again, the Ultramarine pointed, and the Inquisitor followed his aim, right to a small, shivering pink and yellow mass. Or rather, a yellow Pegasus with pink hair, cowering in the dirt by a little shack. It risked enough to show its teal-colored eyes, and made an "Eep!" sound when it realized that all the humans were looking at it.

Fluttershy was more scared now than at any time she could remember. Before her was a sizable group of unknown… creatures, neither animal nor monster. The majority of them were tall, walking on two legs, and wore strange clothes to cover their pale skin. The others were taller, and looked more like giant machines. One even had multiple limbs to it, looking like a giant spider, adorned in red robes. But the scariest ones were the ones in blue and gold armor, towering over everything else around them, with helmets that bore an angry snarl.

She knew she had to do something: say hello, cry for help, run away, _something._ But for the life of her she couldn't move a muscle, and just stared at the stranger. There was an awkward, pregnant silence between them, each waiting for the other's move.

Creighton decided to start. Using a voice of authority, and a speech he had prepared days ago, he declared to the lowly Pegasus, "Greetings, xeno pony! I am Inquisitor Mendel Creighton, and we are the envoy of the Imperium of Man! Fear not, for we come in peace."

The Inquisitor spoke in High Gothic, the language of humanity from his universe, and one which every intelligent race in the galaxy also knew. Fluttershy, however, had never heard of it before, so all she heard was a human with a pointy hat yelling at her in a foreign language. Needless to say, that didn't really build her confidence.

Still, he was talking to her, and that warranted a response. So, Fluttershy spoke in her low voice, "I'm sorry, mister, but I can't understand you. Did I do something wrong?"

She spoke in Pony, the language of Equestria, which was also an almost direct match to 21st century English. The problem was that in the 41st millennium, English is a dead language, and a forgotten one at that. Not to mention the fact that Fluttershy spoke so low that a bullfrog's fart could've drowned it out. The Inquisitor couldn't understand, and was unsure of how to proceed.

Fortunately for everyone, there was someone who could.

Now, as stated earlier, English is a dead language. However, it did spawn a bunch of other dialectic children before passing, some of which manage to last on certain worlds, all the way to current times. One of these languages, as fate would have it, was used on a world where Ultramarines were selected from. Longinus's world.

With his heightened senses, he was able to somewhat understand Fluttershy. "Inquisitor," He nudged the man next to him, "She speaks in Ancient Angli."

"And you speak it, lieutenant?"

"I can. It's the language of my mother and father."

"Then would you mind speaking to her for us?"

The Space Marine nodded, and approached the Pegasus. Fluttershy saw him coming, and hid behind her mane again. The Astartes went right up to her, and brought himself down to one knee, only a few feet taller than the xeno. He unlatched and removed his helmet, and showed his true face.

Fluttershy risked another look, and saw Longinus without his scary mask. He certainly looked a lot less intimidating without it; His features were that of a man in his prime, clean-shaven with closely cropped hair, a face that seen a great many horrors but still held goodness in his eyes. To her, he had gone from a big mean monster to good, protective guardian.

"Hello, fair creature," He spoke to her in a gentle yet firm voice, "I am Lieutenant Longinus of the Ultramarines. What, pray tell, is your name?"

"I'm Fluttershy." She murmured, as she always seemed to do when she talked to strangers.

The Ultramarine had to give the xeno credit; she had spoken so quietly that even _he_ had trouble hearing her. "My apologies," He said, "But my ears aren't as good as they used to be. What did you say your name was?"

The Pegasus looked to the Space Marine, and then to all the humans behind him, and back to the Marine. She realized that this moment, besides the times that she gained her cutie mark and met her friends, was the most important in her entire life. Her friends were depending on her, and she had to be strong for them. So, gathering up all the courage she had in her, she calmed herself, and, standing proudly, told him, "My name is Fluttershy."

"Alright. Fluttershy, my friends and I have come a long way to get someone very important to us. He is with your Princesses, and we desire to talk with them. Do you happen to know a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle?"

"Ooh, yes I do. She's a very good friend of mine. She lives in town."

"Lieutenant," The Inquisitor interrupted, "What is that xeno saying?"

The Astartes responded in High Gothic, "She says her name is Fluttershy, and that she's friends' with Twilight."

"Did she say where the unicorn is?"

"It looks like she's still in town."

"Excellent. Let's take the xeno and go into this 'Ponyville.'"

Longinus turned back to the Pegasus, and asked her, "Fluttershy, will you come with us into the town? Your presence may help calm the other inhabitants."

Fluttershy's eyes went wide at that, and she flew up to eye-level with the Astartes. "Oh no," She protested, "You mustn't! You'll scare everypony! Its not everyday we that we have giant armored… whatever it is your friends are, marching in to see us." She paused to think, then continued, "I should go to Ponyville, and bring Twilight here…That is, if that's alright with you. I promise I'll be quick about it, and you can talk to her all you want."

Longinus gazed once more at the Pegasus, as if searching her very soul. Apparently satisfied, he said, "Very well, little xeno. We shall wait for you here while you bring Twilight. But be quick about it, for my fellows and I are not known for patience." Fluttershy gave a small "Eep!", and quickly ran in the direction of town. It momentarily occurred to the Astartes that, for a creature with wings, she didn't seem to use them that often.

The Inquisitor approached Longinus as he rose. "Why'd you let it go?" He asked. "She's going to bring the unicorn to us, so we don't frighten the natives."

"You think it is wise, letting the xeno handle our work?"

"Consider it a test, Inquisitor. We promised the Emperor not to harm the ponies unless provoked. By letting her bring the Princess's student to us, we prevent scaring them, and she demonstrates that this species can be trusted."

"And if she doesn't return?" Mendel pressed, suspicion tingeing his voice.

"Then we go into town, take the apprentice, and kill anyone who gets in our way. And if I'm not mistaken, Lord, but it sounds like you'd _prefer_ that option."

"But you don't?" Creighton sounded incredulous.

"We all swore we wouldn't fight unless we had to. Besides, I'm an Ultramarine, not some Blood Angel or mindless Ork. I can control my impulses, why can't you?"

Ignoring the inquisitor's reaction, Longinus gave a signal to his men (and the Guardsmen as well) to hunker down at the cottage, and wait. The Astartes was going to give the Pegasus about two or so hours to bring Twilight over. Plenty of time, even for the likes of the timid Fluttershy. Any longer than that, and the ponies would swiftly learn why humanity wasn't a race to be trifled with…

* * *

**A/N: **Now, I'm not sure if anyone has noticed any inconsistinces with the Mass Effect side of things, but I've been wanting to maybe try and explain myself if there were any problems or issues. And if there aren't any, then this can serve as insightful commentary.

On the subject of Garrus. I'm sure the idea of turning him into a closet Brony was an unexpected idea. It comes down to what I would call "Writer's Justification". This story, as I write it, is 30% MLP, 30% 40k, 30% Halo and 10% ME. The more I planned it out, the more I realized I wasn't really doing much with them. And the Mass Relay happening to be in Equestrian orbit, and Shepard's crew happening to come across it... it didn't sit well with me. So, then I got the idea of making him know about MLP. That way, he can double up as being Genre Savvy _and_ be an Audience Surregate.

As for the rest of the Normandy crew. When dealing with the sheer numbers of the Imperium or the technology of the UNSC and CAR, even the Shepard and his crew seem a bit useless. However, with charecters as all across the board, this can lead to all kinds of interactions and Charecter Development between all parties.

In other news, someone (Spaceshiptrooper) pointed the intresting dynamic between Luna and the Emperor. We know that Luna is totally smitten, but we don't know what Adam feels about her. What does _He _think? And are there going to be any _other_ ships involved in this story? All this and more will be revealed... next week, on Peace and Isolation! (I've always wanted to do that ;)


	5. 4 Twilight the Ambassador (part 1)

**A/N: **Special thanks to "mr I hate znt nobles kill em", for providing quite a bit helpful information on 40k and Halo. I'll make certain to keep it all in mind as I continue.

As a treat for all the viewers (and because of time constraints from College and life), this chapter (and possibly all others after this) will be divided up into multiple scetions, focusing on a particular scene or chain of events that was part of the original unedited version. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 4: Twilight the Ambassador

(Part 1)

"_First impressions are always important. Especially when it involves giant aliens with big guns and swords."- Attributed to Pinkie Pie, during the First Contacts_

"_No, I wasn't intimidated by the ponies at first. I demonstrated my biotics by pulling a supersonic equine out of the sky, and they levitated a few documents. I thought they were relatively weak creatures, honestly. It was only after we spent some time with them that I realized… We biotics have **nothing** on them."- Miranda Lawson_

_Outskirts of Ponyville_

_11:20 A.M._

Ponyville was always known for bringing in strange individuals, but today was definitely a keeper for the history books. Rainbow Dash, two humans and a Turian; This was new, even by recent standards. While the town was usually busy this time of day, it was unnaturally still and quiet. Most of the townsfolk were either staring at the alien visitors, or hiding inside their houses in fear.

"Seems like we're causing quite the stir around here," Lawson observed, as the ponies cleared way around them.

"Nah," Rainbow said, guiding them to the library, "This is standard procedure for them. Crazy stuff happens so often around here, they have some kind of panic drill every other week."

"What kind of crazy things?" Shepard asked.

"Oh, you know. Rampaging monsters, spells gone haywire, town getting destroyed. Things like that."

"And this is normal?"

"Normal for me and my friends, yeah."

Matt and Miranda gave each other worried, concerned looks, while Garrus merely nodded his head in assent. Watching the show, he knew that rampaging dragons, parasprite infestations and Chaos-induced madness were common occurrences in this town. Still, the last thing any of them wanted to do was demonstrate their weapons on some pissed-off creature raising hell on the locals.

In the middle of the town, they came to a library built into a tree. Even though the heroes have seen many an amazing sight in their galaxy, seeing something like a literal tree-house was still enough to raise eyebrows. It actually looked a lot like it did on the show, although it held more depth and detail than most of the other buildings they had seen.

"Hey, Twilight!" The Pegasus called out, "I know you're in there! I've got some aliens who want to talk to you!"

The front door opened, and a purple unicorn stuck her head out, looking flustered and uncertain. _Holy crap,_ Garrus thought, _Its Twilight Sparkle, the ringleader! I bet the rest of the Mane Six are inside, too. Wait, shouldn't I record this for everyone back home?_ He discreetly tapped a few buttons on his Omni-tool, and his recorder silently activating and operating.

Just as he did, a brown-white blur rushed past Twilight, tackling Dash in a mid-air bear hug. "Dash," The griffon chirped, "Thank Celestia your okay!"

"Of course I'm okay, Gilda." Dash protested, breaking off the hug with a blush, "I'm not some blockhead who can't handle herself. These guys aren't that dangerous once you talk to them."

The griffon looked at the team, and they looked back. To the humans, this was an interesting development. These ponies have demonstrated the ability to fly, to build impossible structures out of clouds, and now had demonstrated integration of other species into their society. For a culture that still didn't have electricity or space flight, they had a lot going for them. Should other races decide to uplift them, they could become quite a formidable force.

To the Turian, however, the griffon raised a whole bunch of different questions. This was obviously Gilda, but it wasn't the same Gilda he knew. The Gilda from the show was an arrogant bully in Season 1, and a part of the Elements of Disharmony in Season 3. She never got back with Rainbow Dash, never came back to Ponyville, and certainly never sounded that happy to see someone. To see her now, friends with everyone, in this town, acting like a clingy schoolgirl was vexing, to say the least.

Gilda and Garrus locked eyes. "Who are you guys?" She blurted out.

"I was about to ask you the same thing, lady." The Turian retorted.

"Easy, Garrus," Shepard ordered, "Let's not start a fight here." He looked at the purple pony still by the door, and asked, "Now, are you Twilight?"

"Y-yes," She stammered, but quickly regained her composure. She remembered the speech she had prepared beforehand, and continued, "Yes, my name is Twilight Sparkle. And on behalf of the ponies of Ponyville, the Royal Princesses, and all of Equestria, I welcome you to our world."

Some of the nearby locals stood by and watched this, only slightly aware that this was history in the making. In a nearby café, a green unicorn named Lyra was eating a sandwich when she spotted the humans. She did an actual double-take when she saw them, dumbfounded that these "mythical creatures" were here before her very eyes.

Shepard, realizing this was a formal diplomatic meeting between two civilizations, put on his game face and became all professional. "I am Commander Matt Shepard," He replied, "These are my associates Miranda Lawson and Garrus Vakarian." His compatriots nodded when they were mentioned. "And on behalf of the Systems Alliance and the Citadel Council, I thank you for your warm hospitality." He held out his hand, and when Twilight extended her forehoof, he shook it, the first exchange of trust between the two species.

Noticing the growing crowds around them, Twilight asked, "Would you mind talking inside? I feel like we're causing a public scene."

"Of course," Matt gestured, "Lead the way, Twilight."

As they entered the treehouse, the first thing that hit them was the sheer amount of books and scrolls this place had. Granted, it was a library, but most reading and informational material in their galaxy had already been fully transcribed to electronic media, so that most of them hadn't even seen a book since they were kids.

Twilight, not noticing their awe, went straight to the point. "So," She asked, sitting by a table covered in parchments and ink, "Why don't we just start with basic information? Would you mind telling us why you are here?" Gilda and Dash had settled on the upper level to observe, while Spike sat next to the unicorn and took notes.

Shepard took a moment to think about it. Why _were_ they here? Although this world had plenty of rare minerals to power the ship and get upgrades, the _Normandy_ still had plenty onboard. Since this world looked to be in one piece, it clearly never had to deal with the Collectors or the Reapers. However, this planet apparently had abundant sentient life, which could learn so much from the galaxy at large. And, if possible, give just the necessary edge he needed to stop the Reapers.

But that would have to wait for later, after he earned their trust. Collecting himself, he answered, "My crew and I have traveled a long distance after facing a mighty enemy. Our ship was pretty banged up, and we're looking for a place to land, repair and resupply. We had just landed here to see if there was any intelligent life around." He gestured to the equines before him. "Clearly, there's plenty."

"You were in a battle?" Twilight questioned, concerned. "Who were you fighting? Are they dangerous?"

"They were a race called the Collectors. We had fought them because they were abducting human colonies and experimenting on them. We followed them to their home base, got our people back, and defeated them. Unfortunately, it turned out there was more than one base there, and we had to escape through a nearby Mass Relay. Which, of course, led us to your world, and to you."

Garrus and Miranda noticed that Shepard left out the part about the Reapers, and possibly leading the Collectors to Equestria. They still kept their mouths shut though. No need to interrupt the Commander during negotiations, and all that.

Spike spoke up at this point. "Um, what's a 'mass relay'?"

Miranda came in to answer. "You know that thing in the sky that's not the sun or the moon?"

"You mean the Object?"

"If that's what you call it, yes. That is a Mass Relay. In our galaxy, we use them to travel vast distances in a matter of hours. Much of galactic civilization was made from technology based off them."

"Oh, okay. That definitely helps."

"Anyway," Shepard broke back in, "We are looking for a place to possibly set the ship down to do some repairs. Is there anywhere nearby we could land, somewhere a little ways off from town perhaps?"

Immediately, all the locals thought of Applejack's farm, as it had those requirements. However, they all knew the people of the _Normandy_ couldn't be allowed to go there while there was another group of aliens to deal with. There was no way to know how each group would react to each other, and things could quickly go out of control.

However, these visitors still needed a place to land, and they needed to make an effort to help them.

"I'm not sure," Twilight answered, "Let me consult the local map. Trixie!"

Garrus perked up at that name. _Wait a minute,_ He thought,_ There is NO way that SHE is here. That thieving, lying, manipulative little-_

"Hold on, I'm coming Twilight!" A familiar voice called from a back room. A bluish unicorn with a white mane and tail came in, levitating some papers in a magical aura. Shepard and Lawson were stunned, seeing something akin to biotics not used in a combative form. It took all of Vakarian's combat training and restraint not to pull out his pistol.

In Season 1, Trixie Lulamoon was just a magician with ego issues, who then became very popular with the fanboys. However, in Season 3 she became the leader of the Elements of Disharmony, succeeding in taking down both the Crystal Empire and Equestria. In a move that angered many in the fandom, she had even beaten Twilight _and_ Cadence, and tossed them into a bottomless pit (they both survived, but it was a rather dark turn for the show). Out of all the villains from the show, from the minor to the world-threatening, Trixie was the only one that Garrus genuinely didn't like.

_What is this, some lame shipping world?_ Garrus thought. _Gilda and Rainbow Dash, Trixie living with Twilight; What next, Celestia and Discord are couple, too?_

The ex-showmare laid out a map of Ponyville on the table. The town was actually fairly sized, easily the size of a small human colony. 10'000 ponies, spread over about 10 miles loosely. Besides a local railroad and a few dirt roads, the town itself appeared to be fairly isolated, surrounded by either the Everfree or the Whitetail forests.

"First of all," Trixie started, "We need to know how large your ship is, and see if there is available space anywhere nearby."

After a quick discussion of measurements, the ship was declared to be 275 body-lengths, or meters, long. The only areas large enough to contain the _Normandy_ were AJ's farm, the clearing by Fluttershy's house, and the trail inside the Whitetail Forest. Both Trixie and Twilight convinced Shepard that the forest was the best option ("Oh, you don't want to land on the farm, Applejack is in the middle of harvesting all the apple trees." "No, you don't want to land by Fluttershy, you'll give her a heart attack.")

At noon, Joker finally radioed in, "How are things down there, Commander?"

"Good news, Joker." Shepard responded, as the away team began leaving the library, "We've found a place where we can land. Sending you the coordinates now."

Shepard tapped away at his Omni-tool, sending all the data he had recorded during the meeting up to the ship. EDI, having read through and analyzed all of it within half a second, was quick to point out, "Congratulations, Commander. You have successfully negotiated with sentient pastel equines."

"Wait, what?" Joker asked, "Sentient equines… you mean-"

"Yes, Mr. Moreau, the Commander was talking to actual talking ponies."

There was a silence on the ship's end of the radio. For once in his life, Joker didn't have a snappy comeback.

"Yeah, that's what we've been feeling. Anyway, send the shuttle over to pick us up. We'll give you the full story then. Shepard out."

While they walked out, Rainbow Dash flew over and tapped the Turian's shoulder.

"Hey, where are you guys heading?" Garrus turned, and saw that she seemed genuinely interested.

"Well," Garrus started, "Uh, Ms. Dash, We're-"

"Don't call me 'Ms. Dash'," The Pegasus interrupted, "That's what they call my mother. You can call me Rainbow, or Dash, or RD, I guess."

"Right, Dash. We're heading back to our ship, so we can lead them to that clearing. We'll probably be back in a couple hours."

"Awesome. Maybe when you get back, you can show me some of your cool technology and stuff."

"I wouldn't mind that at all. And maybe you can show me what you can do with those little wings."

"'Little wings'! Ha! I'll have you know that I can clear this sky in ten seconds flat!"

"Oh, that's something I gotta see."

"You're on, uh…"

"The name's Garrus. Garrus Vakarian."

"Garrus, you are _so_ on!"

She spat on her hoof and extended it. The Turian thought for a moment, then opted to spit on his fist and tap the hoof in response._ I brohoofed an actual pony_, he thought, _Huh. That's something to knock off the bucket list_.

The shuttle landed in the town square, gathering a small crowd of observers. The aliens entered the vessel, and with a parting wave, the first arrivals departed for their ship. The ponies watched it go, until it became just a speck in the sky, and then became no more.

Twilight, RD, Gilda and Trixie looked from the shuttle to each other, and Gilda asked, "Okay, what's the plan now?"

It was at this time that Fluttershy finally arrived, huffing and puffing from running the whole way. "Twilight!" She cried, "Twilight, come quick! I really need you right now!" She skidded to a stop in front of the group, looking down at the ground. "Oh, I hope I'm not interrupting," She apologized. "I could come back… No, I'm sorry, but this _really_ can't wait. Twilight, I _really_ need you to come with me."

"Its ok, Fluttershy," Twilight soothed, putting her hoof on her shoulder, "We know that there are aliens here, and that you've talked to them."

"Oh, okay." Fluttershy stammered, unsure how to continue now that everypony knew the important stuff. "Well, they're really big and tall and scary, and they asked for you."

"For me? How do you know?"

"Because, they asked for you by name. 'Twilight Sparkle'."

This, by far, was the most disturbing bit of information given so far. Having aliens was one thing. Having warlike aliens in your hometown was another. Having warlike aliens in your hometown _who know who you are_, that straight up takes the cake.

Fortunately, the ponies and griffon had come up with plans. Sighing with worried resignation, Twilight laid out what to do next.

"Right, here's what we'll do. Fluttershy, Rainbow and I will go with you to talk with your 'friends'. Trixie, you, Gilda and Spike will go to Applejack with Applebloom, and explain what's going on to her. And when you talk to these other aliens, make sure to take plenty of notes. We've got to know what we're up against."

"Got it." Trixie answered, "And we should meet back here by, say, 4, 4:30?"

"Around then, yes. And when we get back, we relay our findings to the Princess, and wait for her response. Any questions?"

Everyone was quiet, but Twilight continued. "This is big, girls. Bigger than Nightmare Moon, bigger than Discord, bigger than anything we've ever gone up against. Our friends, the Princess, our very world, it all depends on us doing this thing right. Are we ready for this?"

She was answered by a chorus of "Yeah!" and "You bet!"

"Alright, let's do this, girls!"

With that, the group broke up, gathering up their members, and heading off to an uncertain future…

* * *

"Garrus?"

"Yes, Shepard?"

"How is it that you know those ponies?"

The Turian sighed, knowing the time had come to come clean. But at least now everyone would take it seriously, and not laugh at his face.

The shuttle had already landed in the ship, and the away team was heading up to the debriefing room. Lawson had already sent a message to the rest of the team to assemble, and word had already spread around the ship about the world's natives. The general response was half "D'awww!", and half "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Commander, I…" Garrus wondered how exactly to explain the situation beyond "Those little aliens down there are actually characters on an old TV show I watch." Frankly, he was still trying to wrap his mind around it himself.

"Shepard, I don't think I can tell you," He started, "But-"

"What do you mean you can't tell me?" Shepard interrupted as they entered the debriefing room, between Jacob's armory and Mordin's research lab. "We have just discovered a new world, and entirely new species which is completely unknown, and yet somehow you're only a little bit surprised. You even seemed to know that blue one, Rainy Crash."

"Rainbow Dash."

"Exactly. How do you explain that?"

"Shepard, like I said, I can't tell you. But I _can_ show you. When everyone is here, I'll show you."

Shepard nodded, and took his spot at the front of the table. As the team filtered in, Garrus fiddled around on his Omni-tool, making something of a presentation. By the time the last member entered, he was ready.

"Okay," Jack started, sounding pissed off (as she usually was), "Can someone explain to me what this bullshit about 'alien ponies' is about?"

"Yeah," Jacobs put in, "When Joker told me about it, I thought he was just yanking my chain."

"Would you care to explain this, Commander?" Samara asked, maintaining a mask of calm.

"Actually," Shepard answered, "I think Garrus will be the one to answer this. He seems to know all about these people."

"Why?" Tali asked, "Did he meet some back on the Citadel?"

"Not possible." Legion stated, "There are no indications of any kind that this world is capable of space travel."

"Mass relays were both closed." Mordin continued, "Impossible for Collectors or other races to abduct or enslave."

"So, that would raise the question," Thane concluded, "How would he know?"

Everyone in the room looked at the Turian expectantly. He sighed, and tapped away at the controls. The holo-table in the center of the room came to life, and two different video feeds turned on, divided in a side-by-side. The one on the left was all shaky and blurred, while the right one was crisp and clear and perfect.

Both, however, had what appeared to be a bright blue Pegasus, talking to a purple unicorn and a small lavender dragon. Shepard and Lawson recognized them as the aliens they talked to back on the surface. Everyone else in the room (except Legion and EDI, who were incapable of emotion) raised an eyebrow.

"The footage on the right," Garrus explained, "Is from an old cartoon show called _My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic._ This in particular is from Season 2 Episode 23, "It's about Time". The footage on the left, however, is a recording of who I believe are the same ponies, whom we just met on the planet's surface."

They all watched and listened to both videos. They both appeared very similar; same cartoonish looking ponies, same voices, same backgrounds. Many were starting to think this was some really stupid joke… until a very real-looking Shepard came in on the left, and shook the purple mare's hoof.

"Dafuq?" Jack exclaimed. That was a pretty good description on how everyone felt.

"Yeah." Garrus sighed, "Somehow, by going through that mass relay, we ended up in Equestria, the magical land of talking cartoon ponies. These creatures are something I am fortunate enough to a little about, so I-"

"Hang on a second," Grunt interrupted, "_How_ is it you know about them?"

The Turian was silent for a moment. Then, he spoke, "EDI, define a 'Brony'."

"A Brony is a 21st century term for an adult fan, typically male, of the children's show _My Little_ _Pony. _It is a combination of the words 'Bro' and 'Pony'. A small but devoted fan base has been in existence for over 150 years."

"Yeah, I'd say that's pretty accurate."

"So, are _you_ a Brony?" Jacobs asked.

Garrus took a breath, andstood proudly. "Yes. Yes I am."

The room was silent for a moment. Then Jack began to snicker. Grunt started to chuckle. Tali tried to hold back a giggle.

"Go ahead and let it out. It's fine."

Most of the team started laughing. To think that Garrus Vakarian, the Archangel of Omega and comrade of Commander Shepard, liked to watch a girl's show about horses talking horses? Even Thane and Samara were smiling.

"Oh my god, guys," Jack gasped for breath, "You, you like to watch little ponies. Hahaha, Jesus Christ."

"Let me guess," Grunt sneered, "Do you have a little toy pony that you play with in your room?"

"HEY!"

Shepard slammed his hand on the table, getting everyone's attention. The laughing stopped as suddenly as it began, bringing themselves back to buisness.

"Now I know that this little secret of his is a bit strange- In fact I would find it hard to believe myself if it weren't for today. But as unexcpected as this was, this is actually a golden oppertunity for us."

He looked into the eyes of everyone in the room. "I have been down to the surface, and I've talked to these 'ponies'. I am fully convinced that these are indeed the same charecters as from this show. Which means that we have an expert on this world and everything about it, right here."

He looked back at Garrus, his face set in stone. "So, Garrus, if we are to succeed in this venture, you need to to tell us everything you know about '_My Little Pony_'. And I do mean _Everything_."

Garrus nodded, and smiled. "Well," He started, leaning over the table, "If that's what you want, then let's start with the basics..."

* * *

**A/N:** Wow. Each and every day that I check up on this, I'm surprised and honored by the views and support I've recieved from this. I now know that all the time and effort I've put into this over the summer was not a waste of time, and in fact is actually better than I thought it was. Because of this, I am now fully commiting any available free-time to working this through.

Now, here's the unfortunate part. October is coming, and this is when all the big projects are given out. So, doing a chapter a week might be a bit unrealistic for me. I'll still try to update as often as I can, and I'll certainly be able to pick up the pace come November. I'm just giving everyone a heads-up about any future delays.


	6. 5 Twilight the Ambassador (part 2)

**A/N:** Sorry such the long delay between updates. Unfortunately, my computer decided to die on me early on last month, so this entire chapter had to be done either on the iPad, or in Creative Writing. Hopefully, such a situation won't happen anytime soon, and once October passes, things should get done faster now.

Chapter 4. Twilight the Ambassador (part 2)

* * *

_"Ah can't say much about the visitors durin' the first days. But Ah can say that the UNSC and the CAR, they were good people. Bein' the Element of Honesty, Ah knew right away that Ah could trust 'em. 'Specially Vasquez. But that's another thing entirely..." - Applejack, on the First Meetings_

_"Say what you will about the Equestrians, but from Pony to Griffon, Diamond Dog to Dragon, they have a strength and determination seldom seen even among the Three Races. When their world was ravaged around them, they didn't break or bow before the onslaught. They stood strong, and fought back..." - N'tho Vaddum_

_2:30 p.m._

_Sweet Apple Acres_

"...Now, it was at this time that he noticed this 'girl scout' was a giant serpent from the Paleolithic era. Then the wind blew off its hat, and it turned out to be none other than the 'Loch Ness Monster'. So mah grandpa shouted, 'Goddamn, Loch Ness Monster, ah ain't gonna give you no_ tree fiddy_! We work hard fo' our money 'round here!'"

Applejack busted up laughing. Vasquez smiled, proud that one of his classic stories was still funny. Even N'tho and Cassius gave a curtesy smile, having heard it many times before.

The Apple family and UNSC-CAR team were getting along swimmingly. While Big Mac and Granny Smith kept the troops occupied, AJ and the three amigos had been "negotiating". Negotiating, leading to friendly discussion, and then to storytelling.

"Whoo-ee!" The orange pony exclaimed, "That sure was a side-splitter. Did that _really_ happen?"

"No," Alan answered, "But it was funny, wasn't it?" He took out a cloth from his pocket, and began cleaning his rifle. "Truth is, most of his funniest stories were either completely made up, or stuff he picked up from others."

"Yeah," Applejack confided, "Ah'm pretty sure most of Granny Smith's stories are made up too. Old folks tend to have rickety memories."

"The bumblebees are in the oven, dear!" The old matriarch called, confusing her alien audience. Big Mac merely shook his head knowingly. AJ lowered her hat with an embarrassed smile. Cassius and Vasquez exchanged a look.

_Senile? _The Brute mouthed.

_Probably._ Alan returned, and gave a shrug. It was a rare disease in their time, but everyone still knew what it was. Curiously, in the postwar years, when military tech was opened for civilian use, one of the biggest sellers was AI conversion. Nowadays, when people's bodies began failing, it wasn't uncommon for the rich to have their brains used to make new smart AIs, to operate a space station or starship or whathaveyou. The fact that the AIs only lasted about 9 years didn't seem to register to most.

Applejack looked briefly across the farm, and saw four familiar shapes coming their way. There was Gilda, Spike, Applebloom and... Trixie? The mare was instantly confused and concerned. "Pardon me, fellas," She excused herself, "Ah've got ta talk to some of my friends for a bit."

" Ma'am." Vasquez nodded. The pony took her leave, and the three leaders watched her go. After a moment, the Sanghelli and Jiralhanae looked away, but noticed that their friend had not.

"Alan?" N'tho spoke, poking his human associate.

"Hmm?" Vasquez grunted, as if snapping out of deep thought.

"Are you okay?" Cassius pressed, "You were zoning out for a moment."

"...No Ah wasn't."

"Are you sure?" N'tho countered, "Because it seemed like you were staring at that tattoo on her posterior."

"Ah was only lookin' 'cause its an interesting design. 'Sides, why would they mark their behinds like that anyway? It grabs your attention."

Cassius and N'tho exchanged a look, and then grinned in their own ways.

"What?" Alan demanded, indignant over any possible insult.

"Oh, nothing, human. Nothing at all." They snickered.

While Vasquez tried to defend himself, Applejack confronted the newcomers. "Hey," She demanded, "Where's Twilight?"

"She's with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and the other aliens!" Applebloom declared. The unicorn and the griffon looked around to see if anyone heard outside of the group. Fortunately, all the visitors were preoccupied with their own things.

"What the Hay are yuh talkin' about, Applebloom?"

"We're sorry, AJ," Trixie apologized, "But we may have left you out of the loop."

"Outta what loop? What's goin' on?"

Trixie, Gilda and Spike then gave the abbreivated version of everything that had happened over the past two days, up to Fluttershy's arrival. At the end, AJ merely asked, "So, yuh think these aliens might be like the one yuh found in the forest?"

"Definitely." Trixie said, "Even _without_ ruling out the other groups, these 'humans' look like the Chief the most. So, if anything, we're the most qualified to talk to these guys."

"All the same," Gilda added, "We should be careful with these guys. We don't know what weaponry they have, or how aggressive they are."

"Aw, shoot," AJ demurred, "Ah've been talking to these fellas for hours, and they wouldn't hurt a fly."

As she said that, there was the sound of weapon discharging, and a green orb of energy flew between their faces before splashing onto a tree. The group turned in time to see one of the "Elites" roar at a "Grunt", and kick it a good three feet. The the blue-skinned midget yelped like an abused puppy, and quickly reholstered his plasma pistol.

The new arrivals gave the farm pony a glare. Applejack returned with a "don't blame me" look. The Uggnoy shouted out an apology, -something about a "weapons malfunction"-and returned to his squad. "What was that about not hurting flies?" Spike deadpanned.

"Let's just go talk to whoever's in charge before things head south." AJ led the motley crew back to her new friends, as the three squad leaders wrapped their little "discussion".

"...What's up with you guys, comin' up with crazy ideas like that? Insinuating that Ah was 'ogling' her, like some kinda creeper? Why Ah should-" Vasquez was chastising the aliens. "Alan," Cassius interrupted, "They're coming back."

Alan turned, and seeing the aliens approaching he quickly got back to his seat around the hastily assembled table.

"Guys," Applejack started as they approached the table, "Let me introduce mah friends here. This 'ere is mah sister Applebloom, that's Twilight's assistant Spike, the griffon over there is Gilda, and this unicorn is Twilight's associate, Trixie Lulamoon. Girls, this is Sergeant Alan Vasquez, Squad Master N'tho 'Vaddum and Captian Cassius. They are represenatives of the United Nations Space Command and the Combined Allied Republics."

Everyone exchanged greetings, and afterwards Vasquez inturrupted, "Beggin' yur pardon, Ms. Applejack, but what happened to Twilight Sparkle? You said that she represented these 'Princesses', and we would be talkin' wit' her."

"Unfortunately," Trixie explained (and lied), "Twilight Sparkle had a previous engagement in Canterlot, and had to leave early this morning. However, I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, am authorized to negotiate on her behalf, and on behalf of the Royal Sisters and Equestria."

Applejack rolled her eyes. While Trixie had shown tremendous improvement on herself, she still had moments when the old Trixie would pop up. Whenever she had to take care of anything important, like get some supplies for Twilight or scare away an insurance salesman, she would bring up her old title and her stage persona would come out. She wasn't _nearly_ as bad as she used to be, but sometimes her habit of falling into third person speech was a little bit weird and annoying.

"So," Gilda butted in, "Why don't we started off with why are you guys here?"

"...We," N'tho began, "We're on a routine expedition, exploring the outer edges of the galaxy-"

"We're lookin' for someone." Alan interrupted.

His friends looked at him liked he kicked a dog over a bridge. "Don't give me that look!" He snapped, "They'll figure it out soon enough anyways. Ah may not be a diplomat, but Ah'm not goin' to start our first contact with another race on a lie."

The Sanghelli sighed and face palmed, mystified at the human's ignorance to negotiation. Cassius leaned forward and confirmed, "Yes, we are looking for someone. A hero among the humans and our kind as well. We tracked him down to this world, but we weren't anticipating meeting any kind of... Local intelligence."

"This hero," Trixie mused, her horn suddenly glowing, "He wouldn't happen to look like this, would he?"

Out of a pocket on her saddle, a scroll wrapped in a blue aura floated out and landed on the table in front of them. The scroll opened up, and an artistic rendition of a Spartan in a cryo pod was drawn onto it.

The space around the table became silent, with only the distant chatter of the other troops disturbing the scene. Spike was the first one to speak.

"Whoa," He declared, standing on tip-toes to get a better view. "What's that thing?"

"'Sierra-117'," Gilda recited, "'Master Chief Petty Officer'. Does that ring any bells, guys?"

The soldiers took a moment to gather their thoughts, and Alan asked them, "Where did you find him?"

Trixie and Gilda barely managed to hold in their surprise. _Him?_ As in their was someone_ inside _the armor? That definitely didn't sound good, especially since the pod and the armor hadn't been touched since it was sealed away in a vault. Even with the pod turned to stone for storage, it had been unplugged for most of a day. There was no telling if the individual was still alive.

Of course, they weren't going to reveal all the facts to them. If there was one thing Luna had taught them about negotiating, it was to keep whatever secret you had until it was useful to reveal it. So, without acknowledging anything, they continued.

"His ship crashed onto our world. Part of it landed in the Everfree Forest, where we were able to retireve it. It was turned to stone for safekeeping, but we will be more than happy to undo that spell and give him back to you."

"That," Vasquez said, "That would be great. Whenever you- Wait a minute, what do you mean 'turned to stone?"

"Exactly what I said," Trixie replied, "The Princesses used magic to turn the Chief into stone to keep him stable, and will be able to turn him back to normal when we're ready to return him."

The soldiers couldn't believe their ears. The Master Chief, hero of the galaxy, could still be _living_? And _they_ were going to be the ones to bring him back? This mission had gone from a recovery op, to a first contact, to a rescue mission, all in the span of two days.

"That," N'tho informed them, "Would actually be very helpful. If you'd be so kind..."

* * *

About two hours later, a letter teleported itself onto Princess Celestia's desk. She heard it land on the oak furniture, and after wrapping up a a conversation with a few ministers, she turned her attention to the magical parchment. She thought it would be from Twilight, either sending a friendship report or a useless warning about the Extra-Equestrians.

What she read was something completely different.

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_As I'm sure you are aware, Equestria is being visited by otherworldly visitors, three of them landing around Ponyville. As of right now, contact and relations have been established with two such groups, the "Citadel Council" and the "UNSC-CAR". The Citadel people have been dealt with easily enough, only asking for a place to land. Negotiations with them was a snap.  
__However, the UNSC-CAR are a little bit more... Complicated. These are indeed the aliens who came for the Chief,and are quite eager to bring him back to their worlds. If at all possible, it would be highly recommended to unfreeze him and give him over. We might be able to obtain all kinds of super advanced technology.  
__Furthermore, the representatives have negotiated with the Apple family to obtain several acres of land to build a few "facilities" (which is probably code for some kind of base). In exchange, they have given us several gifts and concessions, including this medical substance called "biofoam", and a few "nightvision" helmets.  
__We would certainly like to hear your ruling on this. Please write back to us as soon as possible._

_Your loyal subjects,_

_"The Great and Powerful" Trixie Lulamoon, Gilda of Ravenpoint, Applejack and Spike_

The Princess smiled, knowing that the diplomacy classes she taught Trixe and Gilda finally worked out. While Twilight was her most avaricious and knowledgable pupil, Trixie to her political and buisness classes like a duck to water. At times, she seemed to know and understand their principles far better than even her most senior advisors, a feat in itself.

Celestia chuckled to herself, realizing that Adam was right... Again. "Better not tell him," She told herself, "Last thing he needs is to have a bigger ego." She kept smiling as she began setting up preparations for a long-distance communication spell. The time for telling the other kingdoms was fast approaching...

* * *

_1 hour later_

Back in Ponyville, Applejack and Vasquez were chatting next to a Pelican, one of the first to come back down. As soon as it was confirmed with the captains, various shuttles and flying vehicles came down, dropping several large buildings and components onto the two vacant fields purchased from the farm. It was rather stunning, how quickly the humans and ex-Covenant were constructing these makeshift bases. The CAR base even looked like it was being formed from light, solidified into a heavy-duty plastic- at least to AJ's mind.

Looking around, the farm-turned-military base, the place was abuzz with activity. Spike was talking with N'tho, both discussing the difference between an Elite and a dragon (apparently they look very much alike, from a distance). Trixie and Gilda were having teleconference with the captains of the _Judgement_ and the _Road,_ working out a few more details on the terms and conditions. Cassius and Big Mac were having a strength competition, with Applebloom judging. Cassius punched a tree with a might roar, and half the apples came down. Big Mac bucked his, and all the apples _and_ leaves came off, much to Applebloom's cheers and the Brute's chagrin.

"Hey," The pony started, "Ah want to thank you for being honest with us earlier. Ah can imagine you're goin' to pay for it later."

"It's fine," He shrugged, "Ah'm not an ONI agent, or a high-ranking officer, but Ah know it pays to be upfront with people sometimes. You'd think we'd learn our lessons from the last war."

AJ sat down, sensing a story coming around. Alan gazed out upon the horizon, and explained.

"A few years ago, before Ah was born, mah people and those of mah friends were drawn into a war, one which lasted an entire generation. Billions of people died on both sides, including mah parents. It only ended when both sides realized that their leaders, the Prophets, had tricked them. They told the Sanghelli and Jiralhanae and all others that humanity was a cosmic blight that had to be extinguished, even at the cost of entire planets. In reality, the Prophets _knew_ that humanity was the chosen race of the same beings they worshipped, and ordered our extinction so that they wouldn't lose their power."

"In the end, both humanity and most of the alien races joined together, and quarantined the Prophets and their followers to a distant part of our galaxy. It may be some time before we can all be on perfect terms, Ah know Ah can trust mah friends over there, and missions like this just go to show that its possible for us to forgive and move on."

Applejack nodded in understanding. Although she couldn't wrap her mind around the concept of billions dying in a war- and, honestly, could _anypony_ really picture it- but she could feel the sincerity in his voice, the genuineness of his tale.

"If you don't mind me askin', miss Applejack," The soldier inquired, " But where did you git that hat? It's very similar to one I had once."

"This ol' thing," she said as she took off her Stetson, "This used used to be mah dad's hat. He gave it to me before he and my ma... Moved away." The last part of that statement was ever-so-slightly tinged with sadness, an old scar from her past. The soldier name merely nodded in understanding.

"What about _your_ helmet?" She returned, changing the subject. "Did someone give that to you?"

Vasquez laughed. "Oh no," He chuckled, tapping his helmet with its orange visor and HUD. "This is something they give everyone when they enlist. Its still special, though. I fought in over thirty different battles, on seven different worlds, with this thing. Saved my life more times than I can count."

They stood silent for a moment, holding their headware. Then he asked casually, almost nonchalantly, "Wanna switch?" Applejack looked down at her hat, then at the helmet, and back again. _Why not?_ She thought to herself, _You can trust this guy, can't you? Out of all the folks that you were talkin' to, this fella stands out.__  
_

So, with a smile, she answered, "Sure, just for a moment." With a quick exchange, Alan was back in his cowboy days, and AJ was an "honorary" UNSC trooper. The pony was surprised that a) everything didn't look orange, and b) the imaginary/holographic words seem to know all kinds of things, from where north was to how many aliens and ponies were around her.

"So," She quipped, striking a sarcastically heroic pose, "How do Ah look?"

"Like you could go fightin' on the frontlines right now." He chuckled. "Me, Ah probably look ridiculous." While his helmet managed to fit on the pony's head almost perfectly, the hat was just a little too small on him, and ended up just barely resting on the top of his head.

"Oh, it's not that bad," She chuckled, "It actually looks good on you. Which is sayin' somethin', 'cause it doesn't look good on anypony _but_ me."

Before the conversation could continue, Spike had ran over to them, and said, "Applejack, we're heading back to Ponyville. Trixie wants you to come along as well."

"Alright. Ah reckon it's goin' to be an important meeting." She turned back to the human. "I'll see you later. Keep your boys out of trouble, you hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am. See you then." With a nod and a minor salute, AJ and her friends trotted out of Sweet Apple Acres. Vasquez returned his attention to organizing the troops as the bases were being constructed, as Celestia's sun began to dip for the horizon...

* * *

**A/N 2: **I noticed a lot of the reviews I've received were about Adam/Emperor, and how it's the strongest thing in this fic (Which makes sense- it's listed as a "Luna and Emperor" story). And of course, you have been asking him to come back, or just a general return 40k in general (Which is a perfectly reasonable request- it's listed as a "mlp-40k" crossover).

So, with that in mind, here's what I'm planning. This next chapter will be about Twilight and her friends meeting the Imperials for the first time (and hopefully not pissing them off). The following chapter- which will be a big one- will focus on the Emperor, and him alone. Sounds good, right?

As always, please R&R. If there's anything else I can do to make this a bigger and better story, please let me know. (BTW, whoever gets that reference in the beginning gets a free cookie;))


	7. 6 Twilight the Ambassador (part 3)

**A/N:** It's back! This was my first attempt at doing two chapters at the same time, so fortunately you won't have to wait too long for the next chapter. More to follow at the end.

* * *

Twilight the Ambassador (part 3)

_"Our first days with the ponies were quite vexing. Half of me wanted to smite them for being filthy xenos, while the other half wanted to hug them like a child's toys. Confound the creatures, they drive me to madness.- Attributed to Inquisitor Creighton_

_"The Astartes have a reputation -a well founded one, that is- of being merciless killers, of having no remorse, no restraint, no heart or soul. That is certainly true, but there's more to them than that. Longinus is a perfect example of a Marine who is the perfect soldier, but who still cared for others. That is why I consider him to be my friend. Because he still has a conscience."- Fluttershy_

_1345 hours_

_Fluttershy's cottage_

Idly waiting around on a xeno planet was certainly a new thing for the soldiers of the Imperium. It filled them with a strange mixture of fearful apprehension and outright boredom. Even the emotionless Magos had to reguile himself with analyzing enviormental data it was gathering. The inquisitor managed to hide his impatience well, the tapping of his fingers on his leg the only tell of his inner turmoil.

Everyone else seemed fine just patrolling the perimeter or setting up makeshift defenses (it was a commisar's idea, giving the troops something to do). But Longinus just rested on top of the hill, keeping his eye on the road for the unicorn or the Pegasus. He kept an air of calm stoicism as the hours passed by, his brothers standing by for further orders.

Creighton was regretting having just brought Longinus' squad._ I should've taken Captain Numitor, or the Imperial Fists,_ He thought ruefully. _They wouldn't backtalk me so openly. They wouldn't backtalk at all! They know and understand their role on this mission._

Mendel was a relatively new inquisitor, but he knew it was a bad example for the soldiers for a Marine (especially a mere sargeant) to openly disrespect him, to question his authority in that manner. It made him look weak and incompetent to the others, and gave them ideas on who should lead.

There was a reason why he was leading this mission. All the High Lords of Terra, each representing a massive faction in the Imperium, wanted to be the first group to bring back the Emperor, and bring glory to their_ Adeptus_. The infighting was at such a point for awhile, that it looked like their would be actual killing between them. It was only through the wise council of the Custodes (and the direct intervention of Constantin Valdor himself) that a compromise was made: Each faction would send a representative or squad on the _Emperor's Wrath,_ and share in the glory of the ultimate triumph for Humanity. Because the Inquisition had control or connections with the Ecclesiarchy, Arbities and the Telepathica, Creighton was representing almost half the Imperium.

Any disrespect to him was disrespect to everything the Imperium stood for.

Longinus understood that, but would've said, if asked, that Mendel was overreacting. This wasn't supposed to be about which faction was the greatest, or who followed His will the most. It was, simply put, the resurrection and restoration of the Emperor. It didn't really matter _who_ reclaimed Him, so much as that He was coming back. After ten thousand years in a state of near death, the Emperor would live again.

Even if it was because of the aid of xenos.

The team had been waiting for about three hours when the inquisitor's patience finally wore out. "This is it." He sneered. "I'm calling in the other squads. This has taken far too long."

"Calm yourself, inquisitor." Longinus soothed. "The xeno still has a few more hours. She'll come back before then."

"No!" Mendel protested. "_You_ said two hours would be enough, and its been three. The day we're expected to trust xenos is the day the Mechanicus stops obsessing over technology."

"Don't bring me into this." Kriel interrupted. "I'm just here to observe."

"Inquisitor," The astartes pressed, "We don't need to hunt down Fluttershy or Twilight."

"And why the hell not?"

"Because they're already here." The Marine nodded his head, and Mendel turned around. Sure enough, two pegasai and a purple unicorn were coming down the dirt road.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash paused with Fluttershy when they came upon the top of the hill. Below them, a large group of humans, giants and metal... things had made camp all around Fluttershy's house, turning what was once a peaceful stretch of nature into a pseudo-fortress.

"Whoa." Dash gasped. "Those are a lot of... really big humans."

Twilight's eyes were wide as she looked upon the whole encampment, feeling a little ball of anxiety and fear settle down in her belly. "Fluttershy," Twilight murmured, "Are you sure these guys are friendly?"

"I don't know about all of them," The Pegasus answered, "But Longinus seemed nice enough to me. And he was the only one who spoke that I could understand."

"Which one is Longinus?" Dash asked nervously.

"He's the tall one, talking with the loud one in the pointy hat." Fluttershy explained, pointing to the duo on the hill.

The Space Marine had also been pointing at the ponies, leading to a moment of awkward symmetry. Fluttershy, for her part, smiled and waved, and encouraged her friends to do the same. Longinus and Creighton hesitantly waved back, the whole scene having a feeling of surreality.

Under the watchful eye of the rest of the away team, the two humans and three ponies came together on the top of the hill. Mendel repeated his speech from earlier, this time using the Ultramarine as a translator. "Greetings, Twilight Sparkle. I am Inquisitor Mendel Creighton, and this is Sargant Longinus of the Ultramarines. We represent the Holy and All-Powerful Imperium of Man, who serves He who rules from Terra. Fear not, for we come in peace."

Again, Twilight was surprised that these huge creatures, these humans knew her name. How, though? Was it possible that the Princesses already contacted them? If so, was this some kind of test on their part? The unicorn's mind raced with all kinds of possibilities, but she still had the presence of mind to bottle that up in the back of her head.

"Well," She said, "Since you already know about me and Equestria, I might as well introduce my friends. This here is Rainbow Dash, I take it you've already met Fluttershy, and on behalf of everypony in Ponyville and Equestria, I welcome you to our world."

She extended a hoof, expecting the inquisitor to shake it like Shepard had done. It was with a bit of concern that she noticed Mendel was hesitating. You could see it in his eyes, that wanted to touch her as much as drink a bottle of acid. But regardless, he put away his feelings on the subject, and shook the hoof.

The Inquisitor spoke, and Longinus translated, "If having a translator is a problem, I can have Magos Kriel bring over a Lexicon Skull. Its quicker that way." Longiunus shot Mendel a glare, but said nothing. Using the Mechanicus to cut him out as a middle man was to be expected, and thus didn't deserve any serious acknowledgement.

"Oh, it's no problem." Twilight said. "In fact," She said thoughtfully, "I think I have a spell that should solve our little problem." With that ambiguous statement, she closed her eyes, and focused her magic. Her horn began to glow in a purple aura, and sparks were coming off the tip. From the looks of the humans, this was very frightening and alarming.

"Twilight?" Rainbow said worridly, noticing that all the humans were now looking at them.

"Just a minute, Dash," Twilight answered, "This requires a lot of focus." Her horn glowed brighter, and the pegasai could see the humans were all reaching their weapons. Swords, axes, various sharp objects, and strange elongated machines were all being aimed at them.

"Twilight," Fluttershy spoke up, her fear much more evidant, "I really think you should stop."

"One second, Fluttershy!" The unicorn snapped, "I'm almost done!"

At this point, Twilight's horn was as bright as a signal flare, and all the Imperials were dead certain that she was trying to do some kind of sorcery, maybe summon a daemon of some kind. Even Creighton and Longinus were drawing out their massive chainswords.

"Twilight!" Dash shouted, "Please stop! They're not happy _at all!_"

"Almost there, annnd..."

_Poof!_

There was a bright flash, and a magic wave that enveloped everyone on Fluttershy's property. Twilight opened her eyes, and saw that they were surrounded by swords and guns, RD standing defiantly in front of her, and Fluttershy cowering behind her. She was somewhat preplexed at the reaction, but with an air of calm that surprised them all, she asked, "Can you hear me now?"

To the inquisitor's surprise, he found that he could. "What did you do to us, xenos?" He demanded.

"I simply casted a 'universal understanding" spell, so you could talk to us. We're still speaking the same languages, but now we can understand each other's meaning." Twilight noticed that all the humans still looked pissed off. "What did you think I was doing?" She asked.

"Something you would've regretted." Longinus told her. "Don't ever to something like that again without giving us a warning. We may have sworn an oath to not harm you, but that doesn't mean we won't act when we think we're being threatened."

"Oh, um, I'm sorry." Twilight apologized, properly embarrassed. Her pegasai friends sighed with relief, thankful that Twilight's absent-mindedness didn't end up killing them.

"Come," Crieghton said to her, "Let us have our palaver in a more private setting." He began walking in the direction of the forest, and Twilight followed. With that, all the other soldiers went back to their duties, leaving Fluttershy, Longinus and Rainbow Dash by themselves.

"Sorry about that." Dash apologized to the giant, "Twilight can be a bit... Careless at times. She really didn't want to scare you guys, and probably didn't even realize what she was doing."

"And I want to thank you for not hurting us." Fluttershy added, no longer huddled in the fetal position. "We really do appreciate it."

"Don't thank us," Longinus told them sternly, "We had given an oath to the Emperor Himself to not harm you xenos. Under normal circumstances, the moment her horn started glowing would've been the moment she died."

He reholstered his bolter gun over his shoulder. "In truth," He continued, "This situation is quite unusual for us. My legion has worked with non-humans only a handful of times, and I personally have never even spoken to an alien until today."

"How would you deal with them before?" Rainbow asked.

"We killed them." Longinus said plainly, simply stating a self-evident fact, like how the Warp is dangerous, or you shouldn't give a chainsword to a village idiot. The flying equines gasped, genuinely shocked on how blatant and non-chalant that statement had been.

"Y-You killed someone?" Fluttershy stuttered, cowering again. "B-But why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you kill them? What did they do to you?"

Why did he kill xenos? That was an interesting question for the Space Marine, one he hadn't thought of before. It was difficult, not because of any moral reason, but because he could think of dozens of legitimate answers. After a moment's thought, he gave them two answers:"Because they threaten my people, and because its what I'm made for."

"What do you mean?" Dash questioned, her tone serious. "Haven't you tried reasoning with them?"

"The enemies of man cannot be reasoned with." The Ultramarine informed them. "We have the Eldar who use us as mere shields, the Dark Eldar and their tortuous ways, the Tau who seek to enslave us, the Orks who fight anything that moves, the all-consuming Tyranids, the ancient evils of the Necrons, and our greatest enemy- Chaos- seeks to corrupt and destroy everything good in our galaxy. In short, your the only xenos I've met that are even worth _bothering_ to talk to."

The multicolored mare widened her eyes from the surprise. An entire galaxy full of monsters, all out to get you? She was a brave pony, but Dash realized that this place where these humans were from was a very dangerous. She also realized that they were very different from Shepard and his friends, who didn't even mention these foes. Were they from the same place? If not, then where?

"What's more," Longinus continued, "I am an Astartes, a Space Marine. My brothers and I are the greatest warriors in the galaxy. We live war, we breathe war, we _are_ war. Our very purpose of existing is to fight the alien, the heretic, the mutant, and to protect humanity. To do anything else is dereliction of duty."

"So, if your purpose in life is to kill," Dash questioned, a touch of worry in her voice, "Are you here to kill us, then?"

Longinus scowled at the perceived idiocy in that question. "If we were here for that reason, you and everyone you know would already be dead. If my people came here to conquer, it would only take a day, even with your xeno gods."

"Well," Fluttershy finally spoke, "If you're not here to conquer or kill, why are you here?"

* * *

"What brings you to our world?" Twilight asked the Inquisitor, as they approached the forest. They were of sufficient distance that no one from either group would be able to hear them.

Under the shade of a tree, Mendel summoned a floating servitude skull, which the Magos had brought on standby. With a snap of his fingers, the skull activated a holo projector, creating an image of a human, clad in golden armor, an actual halo encircling his head.

"This," The inquisitor answered, "Is why we came. That is our master, the Emperor of Mankind. He has summoned us to this world to retrieve Him, and to bring our Imperium back into glory."

Twilight was at a loss. She had never heard of this "Emperor" fellow, and the Princess had never told her about Him. When she said as much, the human said, "You don't know Him, but your Princesses do. He told us that they made Him a new body, to resurrect Him from His deathly state. In fact, the Emperor mentioned them in quite a positive view, and said that you were their representative."

Twilight couldn't hide her surprise. Celestia and Luna had been talking with an alien god, making him a new body, even mentioning her, and possibly her friends? And all this time, the Princesses never told Twilight, her prized student, whom she entrusted with the highest levels of magical knowledge and wisdom? It was almost a slap in the face.

Inwardly, Mendel was smiling. Judging from the expressive face of the xeno, this was clearly a surprise to her. Even better, she had made the rookie mistake of showing her emotions plainly. Whoever this unicorn was, she was certainly no diplomat.

Pressing his advantage, he continued on, "You should be grateful that the Emperor holds your kind in such esteem. Had it not been for His wise council, we would've dealt with you the same as with any other xenos. But I digress.

"My point being, send word to your leaders that we patiently await His release. But know that our patience is not eternal, and it would bode well for you to make haste."

And on that note, he walked off, back to his people, leaving Twilight deeply concerned and vexed.

* * *

"Well," Faber sighed, finally getting into his evening rations, "This has been an intresting day."

It was around 1800 hours, based on the local star's position in the sky. Although, as the guardsman thought, since the sun and moon were manipulated by alien deities, who knew if it actually _was_ that time of day, and not some trickery on their part? He merely shook his head, and returned his attention to dinner.

The day had indeed been weird. After the unicorn and inquisitor finished up their little chat, "Twilight" had returned to pick up her friends. Faber had easedropped on the pegasai's conversation with the Astartes, and was somewhat intrigued with how it finished up. After he reveiled his purpose to the ponies, he tried to keep them from fear, saying that, as the equine xenos were not warriors, and were somehow acceptable to the Emperor, he and his kin had no reason to harm or threaten them. It struck Faber as strange that the space marine would make an effort to come off as _less_ intimidating, when the whole idea of the Astartes was to _create_ fear in the hearts of their enemies.

Afterwards, Twilight, RD and Fluttershy (who seemed rather friendly with the marine) headed back to the town, to send a report to the Princesses. This left the Imperials to secure and sanctify their makeshift base, and to take down enough of the forest to allow the entire task force to come down. The xenos didn't actually _say_ that they could, but what right did they have to say "No" to them?

Cadius Faber sat outside the circle of his troops, keeping watch with his bionic eye, when a loud whooshing sound came into the air. "Look out below!" A voice cried out, and the guardsman managed to duck just in time to avoid a grayish-blonde blur crashing into him, instead plowing into the log next to him. Before he or any of his comrades could draw their weapons, a Pegasus mare with a bubbles cutie mark and a bag of mail chirped, "Sorry about that. I just don't know what went wrong?"

The gray pony got up and shook off some dust. It must've loosened one of its eyes in the process, because they began to move around in different directions. To the humans, it was an odd combination of adorable and disturbing. One of the eyes met with the sargant, and she turned to fully face him.

"Hi," She peeped, her voice making her sound a little on the slow side, "My name is Derpy Hooves. What's yours?"

"Um... I'm Srgt. Cadius Faber, 12th Cadian Regiment." Faber recited, clearly uncomfortable with talking to her. The other soldiers stood around him, watching the scene unfold.

"Well, Mr. Faber, have you seen a yellow Pegasus around here? I have some mail for her." She stuck her head into the large purse she carried, and came out with a letter in her mouth. The light from the sun was right behind her, casting a halo around the pony. In that moment, the humans all thought the same thing:_ Huh, what a cute little xeno._

Shaking the heretical thoughts from his head, Faber told her, "I believe she already left with Rainbow and Twilight. They were heading into town, and if you hurry you might catch them." He hoped that the subtle hint would get the little xeno to go away, but it went completely over Derpy's head.

"Aw, nuts." She pouted, sitting down on the log, actually cracking it. "This is the fifth time this week I've missed a delivery. One more time and I'll lose my job." She lowered her head, and her eyes became shiny and tearful. The guardsmen shifted awkwardly, torn between staying cautious and feeling sorry for her.

"Well, uh, Derpy," Faber continued, unsure of what to say, "I'm sure you'll be fine. They only left an hour ago. You can catch them before they get back, so-"

"You don't like me, do you?" That question was filled such sadness and finality, as if Derpy had been through it a hundred times before. "Everypony thinks I'm stupid or ugly, only having me around to make themselves look better. I hardly have any friends, and now the first space people come to town and you all... all..."

Derpy started crying. Faber and the troopers felt very uncomfortable, nonplussed by how the conversation went south so fast. He felt compelled to console the pony, but was unsure on how to do so, or even if he should. Cadius would reflect later on how the situation was a lot like finding a crying drunk girl at a party and wanting to help her, but not wanting to have to listen to all her emotional baggage that was certain to come. He sorely wished that a Confessor was there, so that he would have an excuse to not get involved.

But, as fate or the Emperor's will would have it, he did just the opposite.

"No no," He said, taking a tentative step forward, "We don't...uh, hate you. I'm sure your a very nice xeno." His troops gave him odd looks, but he merely shrugged.

"R-Really?" Derpy gasped, her eyes now bright and shiny. "You don't mind my eyes?" They started to move on their own accord, which just added another level or surrealness.

"Um, _no_?"

"You don't hate my mane?"

"...No?"

"Or the fact that I'm clumsy and almost crashed into you?"

"Not really?"

"So," She asked finally, "Are you saying you like me?"

"Uhh... I guess, but-"

"YAAAYYY!" The pegasus cheered. She jumped into the air, and wrapped the soldier in a big bearhug.

"Gah!" Cadius shouted, "Get off me, you flying hippo!" The troops began to raise their weapons, but Faber shooed them away.

"Oh, sorry." She let go, and rummaged through her bag again. Cadius only had a moment to think on why this conversation was becoming so bloody bizarre when the gray mare brought out a brown pastry. "Would you like a muffin?"

"...Why would I want a muffin?" Faber asked.

"I always give one of my new friends a muffin. You can't eat one and _not_ be happy. Its a rule!" Derpy held out the muffin, like it was the Holy Grail.

Still sceptical, Cadius countered, "How do I know that it isn't poisoned?"

She gasped, shocked at such a statement. "_Poison_ a _muffin?!_ Never!" Faber merely held his gaze. After thinking for a moment, Derpy took a bite out of it. "See? Its safe."

"_Now you just took a bite out of it!_" Faber was getting to the end of his rope with this nonsense. The xeno turned it around, and countered, "Not this end."

Forcing as much a calm and patience as he could muster into his voice, the sargeant said, "If I take the muffin, will you go back to town?"

"Yep." She chirped.

Sighing, the disgruntled guardsman took the muffin, and ate it. For what it was worth, it _was_ rather tasty, and he didn't die. With that, Derpy flew off. "Bye, Mr. Faber."

When she finally crested the hill, the sargeant sighed loudly. The others sighed and laughed. "By the Throne," One soldier swore, "If all the xenos are this frustrating, we may as well commit to the Emperor's Mercy now."

Ignoring the minor blasphemy, Faber grunted, "I've fought every kind of enemy to mankind, from Chaos to Tyranids to Necrons. But there was nothing in our training that would've prepared us for this."

* * *

**A/N:** Lot of stuff going on this month.

First off, Halo 4 is out. Straight up, that looks hella legit! I already have it as a wallpaper, and I bet you money its going to be called "Game of the Year" (Black Ops II being a close second). Money is a bit tight, but I am getting it for Christmas, so it works out.

Second, Season Three of MLP is finally out. In all honesty, My Little Pony and the Walking Dead are the only shows on tv right now that I look forward to seeing on the weekends, as quality shows are sadly hard to come by. On a side note, its pretty crazy to think that when Season Two had the finale, I was still a senior in high school, and now its almost the end of my first semester in college.

On a final note, I'm now also uploading this story onto . If anyone wants to read it or leave a comment over there, please feel free to do so. Also, as I mentioned on my profile, I'm looking for a cover image to go along with this fic. If anyone knows of an image that befits this, or is willing to do a commision or a deal, please PM me, I will be very grateful.

Special thanks to RD-loves-RA, "Mr. I hate Nobles", edboy4926 and Pacificuser for their reviews and comments. I'm glad that my hard work is leaving such a good impression on you.

See you next week. McKnight out.


	8. Interlude: Imperator Omni-Occulis

**A/N: **Well, you the loyal readers have been asking for it. And as the saying goes, "Ask and you shall recieve." A chapter all about the Emperor. Enjoy.

* * *

Interlude: _Imperator Omni-Occulis_

_" He stands eternally vigilant against our foes, His wrath upon the wicked steadfast and swift. He smiles upon the righteous, and grants blessings upon the mighty. Evil cowers at His name, and those who know His Truth are never in doubt. If our Emperor is with us, who can stand against us?" -Litany of Faith, 39M.459_

_"Omnipresent: Being in all places at all times."- Webster's Dictionary_

_8 P.M._

_The Silver Tomb_

It is a well known fact that the Emperor knew of everything that happened in his Imperium, from the actions of a single guardsman to the grandiose movements of entire crusades. This ability was granted via the connection to the Astronomicon, which guided humanity through his will. However, this was only what he could do through his old, dead body.

Which didn't hold a flame to what his new one was capable of.

Over the years, and especially after Luna's return, Adam became increasingly aware that His senses were... magnifying. His new form, being almost complete, could not only pick up on activities on the castle, but around the world and even beyond it.

Recently, the Emperor had a reoccurring thought, an idea of sorts. These new forces, the followers of the Chief and Commander Shepard's men, came through their own portals, their own universes. Adam himself was now able to watch both His realm and that of His caretakers. So, why not look into these new worlds?

Deep inside the Tomb, He opened His mind, allowing the power to flow out of Him, letting the senses grow and expand and receive new information. His body clenched together in effort, responding in unison with His mental efforts. After a moment, Adam felt His Being stretching out to all corners of this new multiverse. The process would've destroyed the soul of a lesser mortal.

Adam took it in stride.

As His mind expanded, multiple scenes played out before him...

* * *

Many floors above Him, in the Princess's chambers, Celestia had surrounded herself with five magical mirrors. Each one had an exact copy, which allowed for long distance communication between the various rulers of the races of Equestria. In each, the leaders of the non-pony kingdoms were before her:

Odin Alkala, the All-Father of the Dragon Fiefdoms; Okele Mbembe, Chief-Shaman of the Zebra Tribes; High-Lord Zecharaiah of Far Reach, King of the Tweleve Griffon Kingdoms; Chief Thunder Hoof of the Buffalo Tribes; and Master Redclaws of the Combined Diamond Dog Packs. All were members of the Equestrian Protection Pact.

There had been a time when the changelings were also part of the EPP, but after Chrysalis' act of treachery, they had been quietly forced out. The whole point of the treaty was to be united, to train together and prepare for the day that their world would be threatened. You couldn't have a backstabber in your midst.

"Thank you, my friends," She began, "For meeting with me on such short notice. As I'm sure you are all aware, we've had some rather... abrupt developments."

"Indeed, Princess." Odin spoke, his tremendous size making his words sound like thunder. "All across the globe, my subjects have observed the four lights passing over the night sky."

"I take it that these are the ships hero your 'special guest', then?" Zechariah inquired, stroking his beak.

"One of them is." Celestia answered. "The other three are from different... places."

"Would they have anything to do with the Object?" Thunder Hoof asked. "Or the 'Man of Iron' your apprentices found?"

"Yes, they do." Celestia then gave the leaders a brief rundown of everything that had occurred in the past 24 hours, including the recent letters she had picked up from Trixie and Twilight.

"So," Redclaws concluded, his accent coming off as highly Stalliongrad-ish, "The big question is, should we begin the Dusk Contingency or not?"

The room was silent for a moment. The Dusk Contingency, a plan laid out 1500 years ago, was the EPP's response to alien contact, specifically aggressive contact. While Adam had made it clear that He wouldn't let His people attack, there were no promises that His enemies wouldn't be drawn to their world. The plan required that the entire planet, from the mightiest armies to the lowliest farmer or worker, be mobilized in some way, and to put all efforts into repelling the invaders. It also required, if the need arose, plans that would save whatever populations were left, and destroy Equestria to deny the enemy their world.

"In all honesty, yes." The alicorn answered. "While the visitors who are here_ now_ aren't threatening us, we all know of the threats that Adam warned us about. And who knows what other threats these new forces could bring with them."

"Then it is agreed." Okele declared. "All our forces shall be set for Code H-3." (Little known fact: not all zebras talk in rhyme. Only the nobility do so.)

"Before we wrap things up," Odin spoke, "I feel that we should clarify on something: Can we be sure that Adam and His people can be trusted?"

Everyone looked at the dragon, and then at Celestia. The alicorn raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Why wouldn't we?" Adam listened, partially to detect any mental control, and partially to hear their genuine concerns.

"Doesn't it seem a little suspicious that this deity, a being with supposedly cosmic levels of power, couldn't use that power to heal himself? That He had to come to our little world- to you and your sister, mere fillies- and ask you to make a new body for Him? How do we know He didn't just trick us into giving away our location for His armies?"

"Of course He wouldn't do that!" Celestia cried out. "All He has done for us is protect and guide us, while He has been sitting patiently for His body to be completed. All the good things that we have accomplished have either come straight from Adam, or from His council. By Tartarus, this _very council_ was _His_ idea!"

That was mostly true. It was originally His idea to unite all the races of Equestria under one banner, just to make them taken more seriously when they met the Imperium. However, after the Principality was founded, Luna pointed out that the other races may not want to join them. And since warfare was essentially a foreign and forgotten concept amongst them, Celestia believed that a loose alliance between the factions would be the best option.

"And besides that," She continued, "I have seen His heart, and I know what He is like. He wouldn't betray us, it's not in His character."

"That is what you said about Discord." The dragon countered. "And we all know how that turned out."

The room grew deathly quiet and surprisingly cold. Celestia narrowed her eyes at Odin, and her mane and tail began to glow slightly. "Odin," The ailcorn growled, taking a few steps towards the mirror, "Let me be perfectly clear. Never, _ever_ say anything bad about Discord again. What happened to him was not his fault, but of our enemy. And the same goes for my sister, and what happened to the Crystal Empire. And it would do you well to remember that lesson."

The dragon had enough grace to look ashen, and muttered, "My apologies, Princess. I meant no offense."

"Now, if no one has any other objections, I hearby declare this meeting adjourned. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must contact Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. There presence will be greatly needed."

With that, each of the mirrors went off, leaving the sun goddess momentarily alone. She lowered her head, blinking her eyes rapidly. Adam understood how she felt. The fall of Discord and Luna was hard on all of them, but Celestia had to pick up the pieces of the kingdom on her own. Having to do so after losing your sister and lover just added salt to the wounds.

Adam wished that He could've given her some solace and comfort on the actions of those days, that what happened was for the best. He couldn't, for this was nothing like what He went through.

At the Battle of Terra, when He fought and killed His son Horus, there was no regret or sadness in the decision. He knew that the monster that He was fighting wasn't His son, but an abomination that wore his skin. Slaying him was a gift to the universe, and putting him out of his misery.

That wasn't the case for His friends. When they were cast down, Discord and Luna were still _very much_ alive, taking a bullet to defeat His enemies. The punishment given was way worse than what was deserved, and out of the many failures He had made in His almost immortal life, this one hurt the most.

Celestia regained her composure, and her horn glowed as she reached out for her niece...

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, in the capital city of the Crystal Empire, Cadence and Armor were sleeping in the Royal Suite, completely oblivious to the day's events.

Over the past few days- in fact, since they got married, as it was still their honeymoon- they had been working to free the crystal ponies from the dark magic that King Sombra had put upon them. Work was...tedious and slow, to say the least. In fact, the only major thing that they've achieved is reestablishing Cadence as the rightful ruler of the empire (though the name was deceiving; it wasn't so much an "empire" as a massive city, like New Mombassa, or the Imperial Palace). They both knew that they would need either both Princesses or the Elements of Harmony to break whatever curse was put on them.

Unfortunately, the powers that be decided to derail that little plan.

_Cadence, _a voice rang through the pink alicorn's mind, _Can you hear me?_

Immediately, the Goddess of Love awoke from her slumber. Her aunt was calling to her. It must've been important, to wake her at this so late at night (locally, it was about 11 at night).

_Yes, Aunt Celly,_ She replied telepathically, _What's happened? Is something wrong?_

_I'm afraid it soon will,_ Celestia told her, her voice sounding heavy with sorrow. _It's of the utmost imperative that you and your husband return to Canterlot, posthaste._

"WHAT?!" Cadence exclaimed, waking her husband unintentionally. "Why?!"

_I'm afraid I can't tell you just yet._ The Sun Goddess answered cryptically._ I can't trust even mental communication at the moment. At much as it pains me to say this, you have to get out of the city now._

"But Celestia, we're so close to breaking the curse! Can't you send Luna or Twilight here, it'll be a quick fix, I promise!"

"What's going on, love?" Armor asked drowsily, dragging himself out of bed.

_Cadence, you must understand-_

"I will not abandon my people again!" She shouted. "This is the first time I've slept in _days!_ My spell is all that keeps them safe, and if the Heart of the Crystal Empire isn't found, Equestria is doomed to fall into darkness. Do you _want_ Sombra to win?!"

There was a moment of silence, in which Armor finally gained full consciousness. Then Celestia told both of them,_ Go to the balcony, and look up._ The newlyweds were confused at the request, but did as she asked them. In the night sky, they could see a massive star, half as bright as the moon itself, racing across the sky like a speeding Pegasus.

"What the hay is that?" Shining wondered allowed, following the speeding light.

_That is the **Emperor's**_** _Wrath, _**Celestia explained, _And that is a vessel more than capable of killing everything we love. I'm not forgetting about the crystal ponies; I'm putting the needs of the entire world first._

"But-"

_We are talking about **every** race on Equestria, Cadence! We need you and Armor back now! And if you don't come back, I'll telepaort over there and take you home myself!_

Cadence was stunned. In all the time that she'd known her, Celestia had only used that tone once before, when confronting Chrysalis. Whatever was going on, it must've been extremely serious. "What about Sombra?" She questioned, "He's still out there, and is still a threat."

_You worry about a creature of shadow, a manifestation without substance or mass. Believe me, even when you leave, he won't do anything with the Heart, even if he finds it. And, if worst comes to worst... I know someone that even Sombra fears to trifle with. Come back home, Cadence._

Cadence lowered her head, acknowledging defeat. "Very well, Aunt Celly," She said, "We will be back soon." Armor could feel the sadness in her voice, and nuzzled his wife. "Its okay," He soothed, "We will come back, you'll see. I'm sure Celestia is just exseriousness the seriousness of the situation."

"I bet." She humphed. "And when I get to Canterlot, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind."

Adam had to chuckle at that. The young goddess had spunk, no doubt about it, but she really had no idea what she was in for. He still didn't understand why the older Princesses didn't let her in on their secret about Him. Either way, she would soon find out.

Off in the corner of the room, a shadow pulsed and swirled, before finally fading into nothing. It was so small and brief, Adam almost didn't see it. He would turn His attention to it later.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a completely different galaxy, an ancient machine lurked on the other side of the Mass Relay. No, not one machine... many machines.

These synthetics, each the size of a small starship, were quite ancient. Certainly older than He was, possibly older than even the Necrons (although there was no concrete evidence yet to confirm it). But at the same time, they didn't seem nearly as threatening as His enemies, hardly even worth notice under proper circumstances.

They paraded themselves as the ultimate lifeform, the "Harbingers of Ascension", and their purpose in existence was to absorb or destroy all biological life, and it was something they had done for millions of years. These beings, who called themselves "Reapers", were the greatest enemy of Cmdr. Shepard and his universe.

Adam chuckled in spite of Himself. _How quaint. _He thought, _These pseudo-Necrons think they are unbeatable, yet worry themselves over one man? Wait until they see a full-fledged Crusade have at them, and then they shall know true power._

There were ten Reapers in the system, circling around a star fortress Shepard called a "Collector Base". Though made of metal, the ancient behemoths spoke on a telepathic level, and He could eavesdrop on their little conversation.

_"What happened here, Harbinger?" Spoke the first one. "We prepare to begin our harvest, and already we've lost a base and a new Reaper. How did this happen?"_

_"It was He who Fights." Spoke the Harbinger, his voice dripping with venom and malice. "He and his followers managed to defeat my best warriors, saving all the colonists from ascension. He defies us at every turn."_

_"'He who Fights'?" Asked the third, "Was it the human from the Citadel, the one who terminated Soveriegn?" _

_"Yes, the one called 'Shepard'. He has gone from a thorn in our sides to a substantial threat."_

Adam was impressed by this. The leader of the _Normandy_ fought these abominations, and won? Twice? Even in the Emperor's universe, it was unbelievably rare that one individual could accomplish such great feats, let alone a mere mortal like him. Shepard must've been a person of great will and power, a worthy asset for whichever side he fought for.

"_Has he been eliminated?" Asked the first one._

_"No, Messenger." Harbinger answered. "He and his team managed to escape through the Escape Relay before my Collectors could catch him." _

_The third one made a noise that could've passed for an angry growl. "You let him pass through the one Mass Relay we never go through? The one Relay that leads outside the galaxy?"_

_"Unfortunately, yes I did, Entropy. I will-"_

_"That is the one Relay that we haven't passed through in millions years, where we literally know nothing, and you let him go?! Clearly, your time among the organically has weakened your intelligence."_

_"Do **Not** think for one moment that I will let him escape! I have already summoned both the remaining indoctrinated geth **and** the Collectors to go through and eliminate him. And if all else fails, I will personally go and crush him myself if that is what is necessary!"_

_"You better, Harbinger. This 'Shepard' has put up more of a fight than many a race. He is not an individual to be underestimated."_

_"If it comes down to it," Messenger declared, "We will go along with you to eliminate him. Our forces are in the millions, and they can afford to wait a little longer if it means guranteed success."_

_"Very well," Harbinger relented, "Then let it be so."_

Adam focused His attention elsewhere. He had learned everything He needed from the monsters.

* * *

In the realm where the Spartan came from, the galaxy seemed rather... tranquil. Disturbingly so.

Now, the Empryean was a dimension between dimensions, one that reached out to every world. It was more turbulant in some places than in others, but there was always some activity of some kind, whether by daemons or by mortals. Here though, the Warp appeared like a still, clear mountain lake. You could see for light-years in a given direction without seeing anything.

Adam was about to turn His attention elsewhere, when He felt... a malevolence. A dark entity that had been hiding in the shadows, it seemed. searching for it, He found it was originating from a small starship, much like the one currently in orbit around Equestria. It struck Him as odd that such a prescence should exist in such a barren landscape, so He came in for a closer look.

The ship was... surprisingly corrupted. Greenish-brown growths covered much of the inside and out, and what was once beautiful architecture was a dangerous maze of flesh-covered passageways and necrofied abominations. In the center of the ship was a massive tentacled abomination, a creature He detected having a psychic prescence.

_Curious_, He mused, _This monstrosity appears_ _Nurglite in its corruption, but feels more akin to the Tyranids in nature._ Secretly, He probed the beast's mind, and found it surprisingly knowledgable. Whatever this thing was, it had been around in one form or another for thousands and thousands of years, and had brought down a culture almost on par with the Eldar. Adam managed to pick up two names: _Forerunner, Flood._

This ancient plague, which called itself a "Gravemind", was deep in a rage, loathing the fact that it was the last remnant of the mighty horde, brought down twice by the "Iron Casket". Indeed, Adam saw that the Master Chief had proven time and again to be the greatest current threat to the Flood, rendering it nearly extinct. But, it knew that as long as one cell of itself existed, it would always come back. The Flood, like the Orks or cockroaches, could never truly be destroyed.

It listened to the various comlinks from the UNSC and the CAR, looking for a new place to spread and survive. Then, it picked up on something; two ships, looking for the Master Chief. Not only did they find him, they discovered... Something more. _A world of non-militarized aliens, you say? A world far beyond the reach of the Reclaimers? Well, that's a prime location to rebuild, isn't it?_

Slowly, the engines on the ship reactivated, and the ship came back to life. The Flood was on the move, and its destination was Equestria. But as dangerous as the Flood was, Adam knew there was a much, _much_ more sinister force coming His way...

* * *

In the depths of the Warp, the Dark Gods raged.

Despite all their well-planned machinations, their continual corruption and eternal combat against the forces of Order, the enemies of Chaos stood fast. And worst yet, their ancient foe, the Anathema, the Corpse Emperor, has begun to stir. A new vessel was being awarded to Him, and He stood ready to wage His war against the Ruinous Powers in person, once more.

The God of War wanted to summon a Black Crusade (possibly led by Eliphas, if necessary), take out both the Emperor and His newfound allies. Khorne had already begun summoning his forces, gaining strength as his followers went and spilt blood in his name.

The God of Change countered, saying that it wasn't possible yet. There was something about that world, something about the equines, that kept all but the most powerful of daemons from breaking through. The magic they used, their _Harmonics_, was somehow a natural repellant to the Warp. Tzeentch had looked for a way through for many a milennia, but had yet to find any meaningful way for an army.

The God of Entropy suggested that an effort be made to corrupt the ponies. Either through mental corruption or through use of agents, if enough of them fall for Chaos, perhaps the natural field could be weakened, and a work-around could be achieved.

The God of Lust silenced the idea, saying that such a plan was unattainable. In order to send in agents or an army, you'd still need a way to get in. And furthermore, Slaneesh wanted their champions to go in, to lay the groundwork for the invasion. Problem was, who could possibly be able to turn these feeble mortals, and still lead the new Black Crusade?

_We can_.

Two voices spoke up, filled with darkness and hate. The dark gods (and Adam) turned their attention to the speakers, and gazed upon two equine-looking daemons. One absorbed light all around it, and somehow struck Adam as being very, _very_ familiar. The other was smaller, but much more potent.

_Hail, our lords,_ The bigger one greeted, _I am Khazarni, and this is my associate, Khazukull. We have been to the worlds of the Ponies, and we know how they think. Lord Tzeentch, my king, I know of ways to defeat these false gods that protect the Living Corpse, for I have done it many times, in many different realms._

_O She Who Thirsts,_ The little one cried, her voice filled with agony and ecstasy,_ My master, nothing would give me more pleasure than to slay those who blasphemy your name, and wear their flesh as a trophy, to gain strength from their deaths. You seek a way into the land of our foes? Talk to the Druchii, the Dark Eldar. They know the workings of the Webway better than anyone in your service. Convince one to find a way into Equestria, and from there, make them open a portal for me and 'Zarni. _

_Once that's done_, Khazarni continued, _We can begin showing them your light. We know that you will ask for champions for Khorne and Nurgle, and it just so happens we know two such individuals just perfect for the task. Once that's done, we can open a bigger portal, able to let in daemons, hordes... and your Astartes and Primarchs._

_All we ask for_, They said in unison, _Is your blessing._

The gods expressed their approval in their own ways. On one world, a race on the verge of space flight engaged in nuclear and global wars, spilling its blood on all corners of their planet. On a cardinal world, a high ranking official asked for better luck, and was turned into a chaotic abomination. On an Exodite world, the remaining Eldar were discovered by their darker kin, and were slaughtered in an orgy of masichism and rape. And on a newly conquered Tau world, a plague that mutated flesh and reawakened the dead spread like wildfire, taking everyone in a matter of hours.

Adam knew all that would follow: Oracles among his sanctioned psykers would see visions of war and death, of Chaos on the move; Various Farseers among the Eldar Craftworlds would see all possible futures being bottlenecked into very few possible futures, their options limited to a growing sense of "do or die"; The Tau, while not connected to the Warp, will have a sense of approaching doom, and will obviously be concerned about that fallen world; and most importantly, besides the plan that He could overhear, He knew the Ruinous Powers would do everything they could to make sure Equestria died (with Him on it).

* * *

In Ponyville, everypony had gathered for a rather important town meeting. It had been, beside the Summer Sun Celebration and Discord's Reign, the most significant day in most of their lives. Three different First Contacts with powerful galactic forces, all in the _same day_?! Who's important _now_, Canterlot and Cloudsdale elitists?!

The Element-Bearers and their friends were all gathered in the center, discussing what had happened to each of them. It was a general consensus that Shepard's people and the UNSC-CAR were the most trustworthy (though Gilda had some unspoken reservations about Garrus- something was off about that one). The Imperials, however, seemed a little shady, a little scary (Though Fluttershy seemed okay with Longinus, and when Derpy delivered her letter, she said the same for the Guardsmen). Either way they looked at it, they still needed orders and comfirmation from Celestia.

Adam considered these other factions. Shepard's team and the "Cerberus" group that worked with him were a weak but intresting bunch. The Commander and his followers were out for the protection and survival of the entire galaxy and its people, while Cerberus seemed to worry about Humanity alone. The UNSC and their xeno friends, on the other hand, were not here for _any_ conflict, and only wanted a peaceful interaction with the equines. However, if these groups were to meet each other -or His soldiers, for that matter- without proper guidance and introduction, it could lead to a very... unnecessarily violent conflict.

If they were all to meet, the conditions would have to be just right.

At around 7:30, all the Ponyvillians all sat down, and awaited Twilight and her friends to make an announcement. Twilight approached the podium, and began, "Thank you for coming, everypony. Now I realize that today has been... a strange one, even by our standards. But, rest assured, we _do_ have the situation under control, and this time there no need to panic and/or run for our lives."

There was a good-humored laugh all around. It was a general rule of hoof that whenever some big event transpires, the locals would automatically panic and run around for their lives. It was something of miracle that nothing significantly bad had happened yet, for they would more than likely be dead.

Twilight continued. "Spike, do you have Celestia's letter?"

"Yes ma'am." The little dragon answered. Shifting through his "pockets", he pulled out the scroll he had received through his magical fire-mail. The unicorn grabbed it with her magic, and opened it in front of her. She read aloud:

_My dear citizens of Ponyville,_

_You have recieved one of the greatest blessings a species can recieve: The knowledge that you are not alone in the universe. To be the first ponies to encounter not one, but three different alien groups, is feat that has never happened before, and most likely will never happen actions will talked about for generations to come.  
I am well informed about each of the visitors, why they are here and what they can do. Fear not, my loyal subjects, for they are not a threat. They do not come for conquest, but for peace, for a retireval of fallen heroes, and a respite from a battle well-fought. Do not give them a reason to fight, and all shall be well.  
However, there is one thing you need to do.  
While we know all three groups, they do not know of each other. If they were to meet each other outside of the right circumstances, it would not end well them, and** especially** not for us. Thus, my one request for you, my subjects, is to make sure they do not see each other. Not until we can arrange a proper indroduction under our terms, our conditions, on the hopes of establishing a more... complete peace.  
Hold on to the values and and truths we have always treasured, my little ponies, and force of darkness and evil shall ever defeat us._

_Princess Celestia_

The town hall was filled with a solumn silence, upon hearing the words of their Princess. Although many had seen her visit their town on the buisness of the Element-Bearers, they had never heard a more beautifully put and eloquent statement before. As she finished reading the letter, Twilight paused, and then made a little statement of her own.

"My friends, we know what lays before us. We now know how to proceed, and what we must do. We may not have been prepared for this, but by Celestia, we shall not fail. We shall stand strong, stand brave, and we will Pass! _This_! **Test****!**"

A ruckous cheer rang out, and the ponies clopped in riotous applause. Adam chuckled at the display. While they didn't know the full extent of what they were going to face, He knew they had an inner strength that would not falter. He had been among them long enough to know that these peaceful herbivores were not afraid to fight, to stand up for what was honest and good. Naive as they may be, it was entirely possible that if left on their own, they could develop into a mini civilization that would give the Tau a run for their money.

It occurred to him that the ponies reminded him a lot of Luna (or perhaps it was the other way around). She was naive at times, overly optimistic of the nature of the universe at large. Both Tia and Luna -but more so Tia- believed that their way, the "Way of Harmony", was what would end up saving His galaxy. It did bother Him on how it seemed rather similar the Tau's philosophy of the Greater Good, which ended up corrupting them to fit their needs.

But, at the same time, Luna and her people lived by the rules they set. When they say they're going to help you, they do it. When they make a promise, they keep it. And even though the Princesses have faced many foes in their life, the sisters were always willing to forgive and forget, to move on and rebuild broken bonds.

Simply put, ponies were what Adam wanted His people to have been, in a perfect world.

Speaking of which...

* * *

Adam saw Luna gazing at the moon upon her balcony. He knew her well enough to know that it was her place of solitude, where she could go and vent without fearing about eavesdroppers- except for Himself, of course. She seemed remarkably sad, as finally showing a deep-seated anguish. She held herself low, and her eyes were puffy and red. Had she been crying?

"Oh, Luna," She murmured, the alicorn's voice filled with sorrow, "When are you _ever_ going to pony up and tell him?"

_Tell who what?_ Adam mused.

"Every time an oppertunity presents itself, you pass it by as if it were of no conseqeunce. Why? You can't say because it wasn't mutal, because you've never asked him. You can't say that there are no common intrests, because you so much about each other."

_I__s she talking about... a paramour?_ The language and emotion seemed to be pointing this way. But then that raised all new questions; _Who is this individual? Where did Luna meet him or her? And why haven't **I** been told of this?_

She breathed, an almost whimpering sound. "You know you can trust him. He has always been there for you when you needed it. When you came back from your exile, he was the first to welcome you back. When you made your first appearence at Nightmare Night, he was the one to encourage you the meet the populace of Ponyville."

_Oh, it must be one her guards._ Adam concluded. _Tia never phased them out of service. One of them must've gotten ideas to "aid" in her in her reintergation efforts. Whoever this pony is, they must be pretty clueless to not notice her feelings._

"And," She continued, "That first night we went stargazing. Ah, I was almost sure he felt something for me, too." Her eyes went to two constellations on wither side of the moon. "**Luna Nike**." She quoted. "**Imperator Dominatus**_."_ _Victorious Moon, All-Powerful Emperor._ Those were the constellations that Adam and Luna made toegether. He remembered that night...

* * *

_1500 B.N._

_The dark blue alicorn sat on the balconey, a glowing green orb floating next to her. While the Emperor could'nt move His body, He was still able to project himself as a ball of energy, which allowed Him to go about wherever the Princesses went. And if anypony ever asked about it, the alicorns could always say that it was a new light-spell they were trying out, and no one would be the wiser._

_"Thanks for coming out tonight, Adam," Luna chirped, almost bouncing with excitement. "It always so lonely up here; Celestia sleeping right, Discord sleeping wit- I mean, sleeping as well."_

**_Its quite alright, Luna,_**_ The Emperor told her, **I don't sleep anyway. Its a luxury I haven't been given in a very long time.**_

_"Yeah, I can imagine."_

**_Not to contradict you, my dear, but in truth, you can't imagine it. Nor would you want to._**

_There was an awkward pause there. Nothing really brings down a conversation like remembering the friend your talking to is a slowly rotting vegtable a universe away._

_Quickly changing the conversation, Luna chided, "Want to see something cool?"_

**_Perhaps,_**_ Adam retorted, **What do you have in mind?**_

_Luna got up in position, striking a dramatic pose, her hoof up and horn up in the air. "Feast your eyes on this."_

_Her horn began to glow a cosmic blue, no sign of struggling on her face. However, Adam could feel the change of energy in the air, an oversaturation of magical energy surrounding them. He looked up the the night sky, and was, for lack of a better term, impressed._

_High above them, new stars were appearing below the moon, pooping into existance like passing through the evening fog. They twinkled with the freshly discovered vigour of life, dazzling and bright as any star could hope for. Luna's horn grew brighter, a little more effort given. Slowly- but certainly noticably- the stars began to move._

_With the clarity and grace of a true artist, Luna moved the stars, twenty in all, into a new constellation. It reminded Adam of the Constellation Orion, only instead of a shield, the figure had five stars in the shape of a hand or a claw._

**_Impressive, Princess_**_, Adam complemented.** What is that image supposed to be?**_

_Luna blushed. "Its you," She explained shyly, as if it were a big secret, "The right arm is holding your sword, and the left arm is the claw gauntlet thing you showed me. I'm thinking of calling it __Imperator Dominatus."_

**_All-Powerful Emperor?_**_ Adam laughed. **Well, that's certainly very sweet of you, but I don't think anyone- anypony, rather- would know what its supposed to look like. None of your kin have seen a human before, so far as I'm aware of.**_

_She harumphed, which struck the Human God as immensely adorable. "Well," She challenged, "If you think you can do better, why don't you?"_

**_I think I will, if you don't mind._**

_Luna made a "go ahead" gesture. With a little effort of will, the green orb shifted into the form of the Emperor. It was transparent, like a hologram or a ghost, but His energy was more consolidated. Luna stared at Him, wide-eyed. "Whoa." She gasped._

**_Impressive, I know._**

_"I didn't realize that you were, well, so tall."_

_Indeed, His image was 12 feet in height, twice that of Celestia. The sisters hadn't seen Him in real life, so when they crafted His new body, they only made it a few feet taller than themselves. He was, well, rather intimidating._

**_Oh, let me fix_**_** that**. Adam adjusted the illusion, bringing it down to her eye level. **Better?**_

_"A smidge, yes. But don't let me inturrupt you."_

_The Emperor turned His attention to the night sky. In His universe, only the most powerful of psykers- particularly the Eldar- had the power to move stars. But in this world, it seemed to be decidedly easier -Luna wasn't more powerful than He was, but if she could move multiple stars with ease, than so could He. While Chaos magic wasn't well suited for constructive purposes, but with His new Harmonic powers it wasn't impossible. He held an image in His head, and summoning His might, He raised His arms and the sky began to change._

_On the other side of the moon, many stars appeared, shining in different hues of orange and blue and gold. Though the Emperor's image looked strained, the stars actually moved faster than before. The stars, this time numbering around fifty, aligned in a much more intricate, glourious shape. When He finished, the image of a majestic alicorn with a flowing mane was formed. __Luna struggled to keep her mouth closed._

**_Do you like it?_**_ Adam said, trying not to sound smug. _

_"Whoa," Luna gasped, practically speechless. "That looks...looks... beautiful."_

**_Indeed. I think we should call it 'Victorious Moon'._**

_"'Luna Nike'. That would be... very nice."_

_They sat ther together, admiring their work. The Man and the Alicorn raised the moon together, and the creatures of Equestria admired the new displays given. It would go down in local history as one of the most beautiful nights of the Pre-Nightmare Era._

_After an hour, Luna spoke up; "Adam?" He noticed that she had somehow gotten closer to Him, completely without notice. **Yes?**_

_"You've told us long ago about how your Empire grew. How your people went about expanding by, well..."_

**_By killing xenos?_**_ Luna nodded. He figured this would come up eventually._

**_And you worry that when my people come, they will enslave or exterminate your people._**_ Luna looked into His eyes and nodded._

**_You need not worry about it, my dear. Your world will not fall. I won't let them destroy all that you and your sister have accomplished._**

_"But why?" She asked. "I know you wouldn't lie to us, but why wouldn't you do to us what you've always done?"_

_That was actually a very good question, one that Adam was ashamed to say He didn't really think about. But, after a moment's thought, He said, **Well, there's a couple of reasons.**_

_**1) All the xenos that we had exterminated or had been fighting had been a threat to us. They had betrayed our kind during the Age of Strife, leaving us to die had I not interrfered. You and your sister, however, haven't even entered the space age yet.  
2) Your people have an ability that's very rare in in realm, and that is that you repel Chaos, keeping your world pure. In all honesty, you have more to give us than we can give you, and that is beating our greatest enemy.  
3) I'm not a Tzeentchite. You have saved me from an eternal unlife. I owe you a debt; A debt I may never be able to pay off, but a debt nontheless. Regardless of what happens, I will honor that debt.**_

_**And 4) Well, I'm not ashamed to say you are the cutest xenos I've ever seen. The universe would be a much sadder place without you.**_

_Luna had nuzzled His hand- a typical sign of affection and friendship among the equines- and He scratched her ear. **But the biggest reason, I think, is that you've given me and my kind something we haven't had in thousands of years.**_

_"And what would that be?"_

**_Hope._**

* * *

Luna had rested her head on the railing, and sniffled. "I just wish I could just say those four words." She whispered. A lone tear ran down her muzzle. Adam was about to reach out and comfort her, somehow, when she spoke again. Saying the four most important words in the history of the new multiverse.

In a voice softer than Fluttershy's whisper, she murmured, "_Adam, I love you_."

_...What?_

His ears didn't decieve Him. As far as He knew- which, admittedly, was alot- there were no ponies _ever_ who had that name. Things started to click then- That moment during the Ceremony, the night of stargazing, the time with the Chief, and a dozen other moments. It was so blatantly obvious. And yet somehow, with all his knowledge, and all His expirience with women for thousands of years, the Emperor had remained amazingly _dense_ when it came to Luna.

_Ohhhh..._ He thought,_ She's had feelings for **me**. That's... _

_Uh oh._

_My people can't find out. That would be grounds alone to disobey on instinct and kill everyone. Its one thing to work with xenos under my orders. Its another thing entirely to work with xenos that have attractions with humans. I have to keep this a secret, and just let Luna down easy. She may take it hard, but she's strong. She won't hold it against me._

_Wait a moment, why is this even an **issue**? Why should I be concerned about hurting her feelings? She is a friend, nothing more or less. Its not like I have any feelings for **her**, do I?_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_Oh frak._

* * *

**A/N:** Well, that was alot to take in one sitting. We've got Celestia and the world leaders preparing for combat, Cadence and Armor abandoning the Crystal Empire, Reapers sending their slaves after Shepard, Flood on the move, Chaos setting things in motion, Ponyville now having a plan of action, and to top it all off, a possible ship between Luna and the Emperor. And we're still in the first story arc!

Now, having finished up all those big projects from last month, I do now have more free time to focus on this. And on the upside, I've learned that doing multiple chapters at the same time improves efficiency. So, hopefully, I should be able to get a few more chapters in before the new year (or the end of the world, whatever). Also, special thanks to the Poarter on this chapter.

McKnight out.


	9. 7: A week in Paradise (part 1)

**A/N: **Here's a new update, guys. I've got one more chapter in the works, which should be done in a week or two. After that, its time to start the process up all over again. I'm also thinking about opening up a forum for this story. Would anyone be intrested?

* * *

_Chapter 7_

_A week in Paradise (Part One)_

_Rarity & Spike_

"_Oh yes, the first week with the Humans and their allies was quite stressful. Trying to keep everyone separated and secret, keeping track of who was from where, learning as much as we could from them, it was all rather strenuous. But the worst part for me? Having to keep my mouth shut when I saw the Imperials' garish outfits- they were positively dreadful…" –Rarity "Unicorn" Belle, Element of Generosity_

"_I had nothing but good feelings for the 'Ponyville Detachments'. Even before N'tho and I began training, I was just drawn to the way they held themselves, how they kept themselves ready for combat, but were always willing to show kindness and mercy. Perhaps it was a latent effect from my time among the douche-bag teenage dragons, and I still needed a positive male influence or something. Still, it seems rather ironic; I learned what it meant to be a dragon by becoming an Elite…" – Spike, Honorary member of the 'Vaddum Clan_

* * *

_+Day 1 of Contact_

_10:57 A.M._

_Carousel Boutique_

Everypony in Ponyville had some kind of activity going on that somehow included the visitors. Since they were going to be staying among the equines for some time, the ponies felt that they should show them all the wonderful things that Equestria was about. From giving them various treats and trinkets to full-on guided tours, it seemed like they were trying to spoil the soldiers with their niceness.

Twilight and Trixie went about interviewing and conversing with every high-ranking official among the away teams. Dash and Gilda observed the various technologies, especially those involving flight and space travel. Pinkie brought out the "welcome wagon" for each group (the fact that no one tried to kill her was a blessing in itself). AJ and Fluttershy oversaw the construction of the two bases. And good old Rarity was left to do what she wanted to do the most…

Learn about the fashion of advanced aliens. As if anyone expected her to do _anything else._

She was in her central office, talking with her first alien guest while Spike worked in the background, tiding up the place from her work last night. She had been in the middle of filling out a particularly large order when Pinkie Pie had come in, babbling on about "aliens" and "robot people" and other such nonsense. She had convinced her to come out to the Town Meeting, where Twilight and Celestia's letter had confirmed Pinkie's words, which then led to Rarity returning home to begin prepping her home for the Extra-Equestrians.

"I must say," She began, drinking some tea, "That it is an absolute privilege to have you in my home, Ms. Lawson."

"The pleasure's all mine." Miranda replied, drinking in turn. Rarity was impressed at the etiquette and grace she displayed with her hands, something rather lacking among the dragons and griffons that she had met so far. "As much as people may downplay it, you can tell a lot about a species and its culture from things like fashion."

"Thank you!" Rarity exclaimed. "Finally, someone appreciates the finer things in life. You would not _believe_ how frustrating it is when most of your friends think that 'dressing up' is simply wearing a hat, or a cape."

"I must admit that for someone like yourself, it must be quite aggravating that almost no one in this town is wearing clothes. No nudity taboos, I take it?"

"Well, I guess you can say that. Most ponies prefer to go 'naked', as you would say. Often times, they only wear clothes for special occasions or if it's necessary for work. So clothes are somewhat of a luxury item, I suppose."

Miranda nodded, as if it were a great revelation. However, she already knew this, as well as any other important bit of information the white unicorn could possibly give her. Last night, Garrus had given them a crash course on this world; what he knew about the locals, how the world worked, anything he could scrounge up on short notice. The Turian even dug up some fanon material- since Gilda and Trixie were back, apparently on everyone's good side, it seemed like _this _Equestria was non-canon, so a different approach would be needed.

Lawson remembered a rather funny conversation she overheard between Shepard and Vakarian…

(_"Hey Garrus?" "__**Yeah?**__" "I have to ask. You seem to know a lot about this… show. How often do you watch it?" "__**…You know how I'm always recalibrating the Thanix Cannon?**__" "Yeah?" "__**Those engines are a work of art. I've never had to touch them once.**__""…Really? Every single time?" "__**I can't help it if you happen to walk up when I'm in the middle of an episode every time. It's a good thing you make heavy footsteps, or you would've caught me weeks ago.**__"_)

"… Ms. Lawson?" A hoof waved in front of her face.

Miranda came back to attention. "My apologies, Rarity. I was zoning out for a second."

"Yes, well. Anyway, I was asking about what other races you have in your galaxy?"

This led to a conversation to the more than dozen races of the Mass Effect Galaxy, on their cultures and looks, on their interactions with humanity, things like that. As it progressed, Spike would come in occasionally to refill the teapot, bring in some extra treats and such, all the while eavesdropping and taking notes in the kitchen. Being one of the first in Ponyville to meet the aliens, he came early to give the fashionista a debriefing. He also stayed to "help" around the store, partly to keep an eye on her, and partly because he always liked being with his longtime crush.

At one point, the little dragon had cleaned up the table the ladies were using, and when he returned he asked obediently, "Anything else, mi'ladies?"

"That's it for right now." Rarity answered. "Thank you, Spike." She gave him a quick kiss on the top of his head, and the slightly blushing reptile went back to the kitchen.

"That was rather affectionate of you." Miranda observed. Perhaps the fandom was right on this "Sparity" relationship thing.

"Oh, yes," She sighed. "I'm afraid our… relationship is a bit, shall we say, _complicated_."

"How so, if you don't mind me asking?"

Rarity was silent for a moment, trying to find the right words. "Well- oh, how do I put this? Age and maturity is a rather finicky when it comes to dragons, I suppose. When dragons get a lot of possessions, their greed can rapidly age them to full growth, making them rather destructive. But under normal circumstances, Spike is very wise and mature for his age."

"Speaking of which, how old _is_ he?"

"Uh… twelve." She admitted, almost embarrassed. She quickly amended, "But again, dragon age is different to pony age. He's actually around his teenage years, and from what Twilight tells me it's around this time that his breed starts bonding, in a romantic sense."

Miranda nodded, and gestured for her to continue.

"I've known that Spike has had a crush on me for some time. I received a real good look at his depth during his birthday, when he had an incident with greed and aging. He had turned into a mindless fifty-foot tall monster, and ravaged much of the town, even kidnapping me for his hoard. But, just as things seemed to be at their worst, he saw the gem he had given me some time before, and remembered what was important to him: his friends, his family, and me. He turned back to normal, and confessed his feelings for me."

"Later, he went on a 'journey of self-discovery', to find out what it meant to be a dragon. Of course, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and I had followed, to make sure he didn't get hurt. He became mixed up with some unsavory characters, and at one point they threatened his life. We intervened, and saved him- but more importantly, I realized that not only did he care a lot for me, but I cared for him too."

"We're now in somewhat… complicated situation. Anyone who doesn't know us would say we're _really_ close friends. But it's more than that. We haven't done anything_ romantic_, per se, but he's as close to a colt-friend as I've had in years."

"I believe the term you're looking for is 'Platonic Life-Partners.'"

"Hmm, I suppose so… But what about you? Do you have a special somepony?"

The human chuckled. "Yes, I suppose I do. Commander Shepard and I have an, _interesting_ relationship."

"Oh? Do tell."

She sighed. "Well, for starters, it's not strictly the most _monogamous_ of relationships, if you catch my meaning. Shepard is also… intimate with the Quarian on our ship, Tali Zorah vas Normandy. She had served with him on a prior mission, helped him save the Citadel from Sovereign's rampage. We brought her in because of her technical skills, but Matt may have brought her in for other things as well."

"After awhile, it became somewhat obvious that Shepard and Tali were… very close. Problem was, _he_ was with _me_ still. I'm not sure about relationship norms on this planet, but the galaxy tends to hold monogamy and fidelity rather highly. So, like anyone else would've done, I confronted them."

"But when I did, he didn't get all mad or defensive. Instead, he understood my concerns, and apologized for not coming to me first. Then, Shepard gave this speech about how_ 'Tali and I both cared for him, he cared for us, so why do we have to choose between us?_' Looking back, I'm surprised I didn't call him out on it, slam him into a wall and wash my hands of that player. Hell, I was even expecting Tali to do the same thing."

"But you know what happened? ... We bought it. We bought it hook, line and sinker. From that point on, we somehow both became his women. You can ask anyone from the _Normandy_ about it, and they'll chalk it up to the Commander having 'swag'. Honestly, it's probably true, because if it were anyone else I would never go for it. But it's _because_ it's Shepard that it works. Does that make sense?"

Rarity nodded in understanding- or rather, a form of understanding. Thing was, with the Male-Female ratio at 2:1, monogamy was a rather uncommon thing. But maybe it was a common thing among these distant peoples, and it would be uncouth to criticize their ways. So she merely feigned comprehension and forced sympathy, and after awhile Miranda got a call on her omni-tool, asking her to come back to the ship. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief as the human finally left.

"I dare say that this little chat went well." She complimented herself, rearranging the outfits for the next guest. "Who are we having next?"

Spike reviewed the checklist made the night before. "Let's see. Twilight and Trixie have Tali and Legion, Rainbow and Pinkie have Garrus and Thane, Gilda has Inquisitor Creighton… Oh, here we are; Rarity, we have N'tho."

"N'tho?" The fashionista sounded a bit skeptical on the name.

"I think you'll like him." Spike continued, sounding rather enthusiastic. "He's a Sanghelli. He's tall and has this really cool looking armor, and looks a lot like a dragon. Best of all, he's actually nice to us."

"Well, that's certainly good to hear." The unicorn continued tiding up.

The dragon was quiet for a moment, writhing his hands. He then asked, "Um, Rarity, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, darling."

"Well, all that stuff that you told Miranda, about me? Did you really mean it?"

"Spike, when have I-"

Before she could finish, they both heard a knocking on the door. Rarity sighed. "I'll get it."

Trotting to the door, she opened it, and was greeted with the visage of giant metal monster. It was more than twice her height, adorned in armor of shiny red and silver. On its sides were a two-pronged blue contraption with a line of connecting plasma, and a simple brown stick delicately and intricately designed. Its feet were cloven rather than hoofed, and its hands had two thumbs. Most intimidating of all, it wore a three-pronged helmet, which had held two glowing lights were the eyes should be.

Rarity just stood there, frozen in shock and fear. Spike saw the being in the doorway, and smiled. He waved to it, and called out, "Hey N'tho. Come on in."

"Hello, Spike." The Sanghelli answered in a deep voice. He nodded to the unicorn. "Lady Rarity, I presume?"

She managed to snap herself out of that little spell, and quickly answered, "Why, y-yes, of course. Welcome to Carousel Boutique. How uh, how can I help you?"

"Applejack sent me here." The alien told her promptly. "She said that you would take an interest in my armor and its technology. Or rather, whatever technology I'm allowed to show you that you can understand." He didn't say that condescendingly, and Rarity was thick-skinned enough to not be bothered even if he were.

"Of course, that would be lovely. Please come in."

She gestured a hoof, welcoming him in. The Sanghelli had to duck down a bit to go through the tiny doorway. His head swiveled this way and that, getting a good view of the entire store. For what it was worth, N'tho could see that she held a lot of pride for the job she held. Everything in the building had its own glow or feel, every piece of cloth or art felt vibrant and alive. He could imagine that many a human corporation would pay a fair sum to gain her services.

And amidst this living work of art, Spike stood and watched him. For whatever reason, the dragon had possessed the notion that the Sanghelli was a badass. Whether it was his height, or his armor, or the way he commanded his fellow soldiers, the Elite embodied everything Spike found lacking in himself.

As much as he liked being with his pony friends –both mare and colt- they didn't and couldn't help him understand what it meant to be a dragon. In his life, he had two experiences to what his kind was like; his birthday rampage, and his time with the teen dragons. The first time told him he had to be careful around his friends and material possessions; the other told him that his kind, on average, were a bunch of sadistic, phoenix-aborting, child-abusing Jerkasses.

Both of which went against everything he felt he wanted to be.

The daydream he had when he saved Rarity; that's what he wanted to become. He wanted to be a warrior, noble and strong, dealing out justice to the wicked and saving the innocent. He wanted to embody and protect everything that Twilight and Celestia had taught him to love.

Maybe he could teach him.

N'tho, oblivious to the dragon's thoughts, offered his weapons to him. "Hold on to these." He instructed. "They are very dangerous, and very important to me and my kind. Treat them carefully."

Spike took the blue gun and metal stick as gently as a pair of Fire Rubies, and gazed upon them with the same awe and wonder. The dragon responded with a "Yes, sir," and walked them both off to the backroom.

"Is there anything in particular you wish to look at?" N'tho asked the unicorn.

"Why not start with your helmet?" Rarity answered. "I'm rather curious on how your eyes manage to glow like that."

N'tho nodded, and began unlocking his helmet. When he finished, he placed the helmet on the table, and turned to face her. Rarity, for all her etiquette and control, couldn't hold back the gasp of horror that escaped from her mouth.

It wasn't the yellow snake-eyes that scared her, nor the large scar on the front of his head, or even the lack of ears that disturbed her. It was… it was…

N'tho noticed the fear on the unicorn's face, and tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

"Y-y-your," Rarity stuttered, "W-what h-happened t-to your…"

"Is it my mandibles?"

"Y-yes."

"Does the way they move when I speak terrify you?"

"Yes."

"Do you want me to put my helmet back on?"

_"Yes!"_

The Sanghelli put the helmet back on, trying not to chuckle. The marshmallow-colored creature's voice kept on getting higher and higher as she cowered and spoke. It was rather cute, in an almost sadistic way.

"I take it that your have a phobia of insects?" He asked as the lights in the helmet came back on.

"I suppose you could say that." She sighed, relived. "My friends and I had to fight off the Changeling Invasion a few months back. It left a few marks on all of us."

While the two of them chatted, Spike was in the backroom, inspecting the bizarre alien weapons. The blue pronged weapon was pretty dangerous-looking; a fly had buzzed by and touched the connecting plasma line, and was promptly vaporized. What peaked the dragon's interest was the strange metal stick.

It was rather basic, when you got down to it. It shone in the color of aged bronze, covered with intricate twirls and spirals. There were two thin strips on either end of it, and a small button in the middle. It was rather large, but he was still able to hold it in one hand. His thumb strayed towards the button, and then-

_Whish!_

Spike blinked in astonishment. When once there was nothing, there were now twin two-foot blades coming out of the stick. They glowed a mesmerizing electric blue, and arcs of energy silently crackled and arched the span between them. It was then he realized that it wasn't a stick; it was a _handle_. This was some kind of magical sword, and he was wielding it.

Spike had seen many beautiful images in his young life; Celestia raise the Sun; Luna raise the Moon; a Sonic Rainboom; the Elements of Harmony at work; Rarity fresh out of the spa and Twilight taking a nap. All these things and more, they were beautiful _moments_, beautiful _friends_. But this sword, this Blade of Energy, was the most beautiful _thing_ he had ever seen.

A distant part of his mind wanted him to touch it, but he quickly banished that thought. He reasoned it was probably plasma-based, torching anything that contacted it. In reality, the blade was made of light, hardened in a kind of electromagnetic field, condensing into a solid mass. It was so sharp it could split an atom at the tip. Had he touched it, it would've gone straight through his claws.

Another, far more tantalizing idea came to mind. The baby dragon grinned. He slashed the blade through the air, and it made the most beautiful _whoosh_ sound. Spike giggled. "This is amazing." He began twirling the sword around in his hand, spinning it rapidly. Then he began spinning about, twirling like a dervish, becoming a blur of green and purple and electric blue. The sword became an extension of the dragon, and he felt more powerful than ever before.

He cheered in his head, _I am Lord Spike, Destroyer of Evil!_

_ Slash! Crack!_

Spike stopped, looking around. The sound came from a nearby table. Apparently, he had accidentally sliced clean through the solid oak furniture, and watched as it fell apart in two halves. The edges were perfectly smooth, not even warm to the touch. This sword was more powerful than he thought.

Behind him, there was a metal shuddering sound as N'tho decloaked himself. "That, Lady Rarity," He spoke to the unicorn in the other room, "Is what I mean by turning invisible." He turned his attention to the little dragon holding his sword. If he had eyebrows, he would've raised them. "What have we here?"

"I'm sorry, N'tho," Spike tried to explain, "I was just looking at your sword and it was so cool and-"

"Okay, why don't you stop swinging the sword while you talk?" The Sanghelli instructed. "It's not your pec- your tail. Just hold onto the button, and flick it." _Was I about to call it a "pecker"?_ He thought. _By the Forerunners, I've spent too much time with Vasquez._

The dragon did as he was told, and the blade unlit itself. When the alien gestured to get it back, he was slightly hesitant. The primitive brain inside him kept on screeching that it was his sword now, that he shouldn't give it back. Spike broke through that line of thought, and gave the handle back the strange four-fingered hand.

"I was just demonstrating the invisibility cloak my armor has when I saw you in action." N'tho continued.

"Oh, did you?" Spike was feeling rather embarrassed. He hoped that his new friend wouldn't be too mad at him for his indiscretion.

The Sanghelli was quiet for a moment, thinking of the right thing to say. "Spike," He told the little dragon, "I have been fighting for 75 years. I have seen every kind of soldier there is, and then some. As a Sanghelli, one can spot a true warrior by the way he wields his sword. And I must tell you, little dragon; I have never seen someone take to the sword as quickly as you have."

"Really?" Spike perked up, his tail twitching ever so slightly.

"Certainly." N'tho paused in thought, and continued, "You know, it'll probably be some time before the Chief is brought to us. I myself will have quite a bit of free time. How would you like to train with me?"

"_Seriously?"_ Spike could hardly contain the glee in his voice.

"Sure. It'll be fun. You up for it?"

"Absolutely! That would be awesome!" It was all he could do to not jump for joy.

The Sanghelli chuckled; if only all youngsters on Sanghelios took to training so eagerly nowadays. N'tho wrapped up his business with Rarity, made an appointment with his new "apprentice", and made his departure. Spike felt like a little foal on Hearth's Warming Day, waiting to open his presents. Starting tomorrow, he would learn how to be a warrior. In his mind, he would finally know what it meant to be a dragon.

* * *

**A/N:** Quick note on the Energy Blade. I don't actually know how the thing works. I figured that it was based off of Forerunner light technology, which probably uses some kind of containment field to solidify it.

Another thing; for the only important male charecter, who doesn't do a whole lot until recently, I like Spike. I've always been a fan of dragons, and I suppose its nice to see one depicted that's not a whiner or a monster. He currently ranks up there with the likes of Temeraire, Toothless, Saphira and Spyro (I just found out about him on deviantart, didn't know he was popular).

You'll notice that, besides the obvious Luna/Adam ship, there are a bunch of others sprinkled in (Twixie, AJ/Vasquez, and of course the Sparity). I'm trying to incculde what I think are three biggest groups of MLP fanfiction: Shippings, Crossovers and Grimdarks. The first two are rather obvious, and have and will recieve plenty of time. But keep in mind, while I won't be upgrading this to an M rating, believe me when I say I'll try my best to bring out the darkness.

Anyway, I have plans for the little guy. Do they incculde him becoming an Elite-trained badass? Is that the _only_ thing I have in mind? We'll just have to wait and see.

And don't forget to vote on the poll on my profile page. In a battle of civilizations, who would win; The Eldar, or the Forerunners?

McKnight out.


	10. 8: A week in Paradise (part 2)

_Chapter 7_

_A week in Paradise-(Part 2)_

_Fluttershy_

* * *

"_As an Astartes, one is trained to not any emotion outside of righteous fury. Mercy and Compassion are concepts that are rarely demonstrated or seen, even amongst your battle-brothers. But, as anyone who has ever been around Fluttershy knows, it's almost impossible **not** to demonstrate these ideals. I had spent my entire life killing, but when I did so in front of her, it was the first time I ever felt shame."- Srgt. Longinus, on his dealings with Fluttershy_

"_Every race seems to have a special ability or trait. Humans are clever and resilient. Sanghelli are great fighters with a strong moral code. Asari are neutral and bang everyone. Eldar are reserved but powerful. And ponies… well, somehow they've weaponized cuteness. One can resist their charm the same way a snail can go FTL; you can't."- Capt. Cassius_

* * *

_+Day 3 of Contact_

_9:55 A.M._

_Fluttershy's Cottage/ Forward Base Aquila_

_Thought of the day: A busy mind is pure mind._

Life was starting to get into a routine, the sense of awe and wonder settling down into a sense of normalcy and acceptance. Much of the base had been (hastily) assembled, and none of the Imperials daily activities interfered with Fluttershy's lifestyle of peace and calm. Granted, it did take awhile for the meek Pegasus to convince them not to kill every animal that happened to pass by, to reassure them that she could handle any fauna problem, but with great helpings of reasoning, pleading and using the cutest puppy eyes that any of them had ever seen, they acquiesced to her conditions.

The whole situation was still rather disconcerting for the Imperials. Having to work with naive and cute little xenos on a daily basis didn't sit well with some of the more… devout members, especially the Chaplains and Confessors. Even though all of them had sworn to the Emperor to accept the equines, but it would be a lie to say that none of them thought, even for a minute, that perhaps the aliens put some kind of spell on Him, bending Him to their will. And if they were able to achieve _that_, who knew what else they could do?

But while the higher ups- from the Inquisitor to the Captains to the Chaplains- seemed uneasy about it, everyone else was slowly warming up to the ponies. Since all the animals now avoided the cottage like the plague, so Fluttershy had nothing to do but mingle with the big scary humans. She seemed rather at ease with the giants- even with the Imperial Fists, when they came down- but seemed to be closest with Longinus. And then, of course, there was Faber and Derpy, who had somehow became the comedic duo of the camp.

This leads us to what's happening right now…

"No, Derpy!" The corporal had shouted at the ditzy mare. "I don't want to go meet your boyfriend! I've got more important things to do than make social calls!"

"Hold up, buttercup," The Pegasus countered, flying around the trooper to look him in the eye (not an easy thing, considering her wandering eyes). "First off, the term is 'coltfriend'- we've been over this, words are different here. Secondly, Doctor Whooves is _not_ my coltfriend. He's simply a friend, who happens to be a stallion. And thirdly, I just thought it would be nice if you two met. He always goes on about technology, so maybe he would like you too. Especially with your robot arm."

"Bah!" Faber snarled. "My cybernetics are _not_ for show and tell! I think if I even let you _touch it_, the Magos would blow a circuit and have me executed! Speaking of which, why don't you just take him? The Mechanicus knows everything there is to know about technology."

"I'm not going to bring that creeper!" Derpy cried out. "He has been asking all kinds of weird questions about 'pony breeding', and watches us like a foal-fiddler. I'll be sent to Tartarus before I let him anywhere _near_ my Dinky and Sparkler!" Many citizens in Ponyville could attest with that; you don't fuck with Derpy's family; as cute as she is, she'll break your legs.

"I wouldn't worry about that, Corporal." Longinus called out, again sneaking up behind them. "He went over to Pinkie Pie's house earlier today. Something about 'understanding the complicated nature of equine xeno genetics'."

"Good luck with that." Fluttershy spoke up. "Not to say anything bad about Pinkie- but, well, I've heard talking to her can be very… confusing."

The Astartes and the Pegasus were always quite a sight. It seemed as of the first day of settlement, some kind of arrangement or understanding was made between them, somehow making them "friends" if rumors and observations were true. The strangest part about it was the now Fluttershy was always riding on the Marine's armor, laying on the shoulder guard like a wolf pelt, almost like she were using him as a personal taxi. People would joke about it, but never to their faces (Guardsmen didn't want to insult a demigod, and the Space Marines were too professional to mind it).

"Hey, Fluttershy," The gray mare chirped, "Have any plans today?"

"Why yes, Derpy," She promptly answered, flying off and landing daintily in the dust. "I actually have to AJ's farm to pick up some supplies. She's always nice enough to grant me a discount, if not completely free."

"Would you mind if I were to come along, Fluttershy?" Longinus inquired. "I haven't been to Sweet Apple Acres yet. The Inquisitor is always on us about 'obtaining intelligence' and 'doing reconnaissance', as if we didn't know how to do our job."

Fluttershy shifted awkwardly, trying to think of a good excuse. "Um," She stammered, "I don't think that's a good idea, Mr. Longinus. Applejack is busy with bucking apples, and she always wants to meet guests personally, so-"

"What about her siblings?" He countered. "I'm sure one of her family members would be able to talk to me."

"Uh, um… I think they're helping her with the harvesting. It's a family activity."

"No matter. I don't have to talk to them. I'll just walk around the property, see what I can see, and leave before anyone is the wiser."

Fluttershy was running out of ideas, save one. She didn't want to lie about her friends, and she felt that AJ wouldn't be happy about it, but they all knew the rules. The humans were not supposed to see each other.

"Okay, Mr. Longinus. I didn't want to tell anyone this, but Applejack and Big Mac are, well, rather shy. They don't always like having unexpected guests coming over. They are okay with me and my friends coming over, but if _you_ showed up, you might startle them."

"And what would be so wrong with that?" The Astartes argued.

Fluttershy whimpered, a truly heartbreaking sound. Everyone near her felt quite uncomfortable. Derpy was very familiar with that sound; whenever the yellow mare made it, she was guaranteed to get what she wanted, not out of manipulation, but because it gives everyone in earshot became crushed with guilt.

Longinus had heard a similar sound come from her before; and even to this day he couldn't believe that the little xeno could affect him so…

* * *

_Two days prior_

_Perimeter of **Forward Base Aquila**_

_ Howls could be heard piercing the quiet of the night. The Guardsmen and Astartes recalled that it sounded like the lost 13th Company of Space Wolves. Fluttershy told them it was Timberwolves. Quite an intimidating creature, as she described it; twice the size of a pony, made of wood, very hard to kill. What was a nightmare for the ponies was welcome opportunity for the soldiers._

_ Finally, they get to shoot something._

_ While the Guardsmen stayed put to maintain the perimeter, the Marines went out for the hunt. The wolves were clever beasts, no doubt- but the Astartes had fought against the likes of Orks and Tyranids, and no animals were smarter then them. It had taken maybe an hour for them to slay over a hundred of them through the forest, a few techmarines and apothecaries taking a few corpses back for study (a living moving creature made only of wood- fascinating)._

_ Towards the end of the night, Longinus had separated from the rest of the squad, looking for any stragglers. He found one. It was in a shallow ditch, growling at… Fluttershy? Indeed, she had snuck out in the night, and was talking to the beast in some weird language. As she spoke, the timberwolf growled louder, and took a few steps closer. The Pegasus retreated, looking very pale._

_ It was plain to see that the creature meant to kill the pony. That was something he could not allow._

_ Quick and silent as death, the Astartes rushed to the xenos, drawing his chainsword. Before anyone could even blink, Longinus stabbed the sword through the back of the timberwolf's neck, sending it all the way through the mouth. Pulling the trigger, the chainsword whirred to life, and green ichor splattered the ground and bushes. The blade came out; the body flopped to the ground, dead as a doorknob._

_ All this happened in about three seconds._

_ Fluttershy looked aghast, appalled at what she saw. "W-why did you do that?" She asked._

_ "That beast was going to kill you." Longinus explained, as if stating an obvious fact._

_ "No she wasn't!" The pony cried out, full of sadness and anger._

_ **Huh?**_

_ "She was a mother," She continued, her eyes getting teary. "She was running away from you because you killed her entire pack. She was pregnant with cubs, and was asking me to hide her."_

_ The Marine was quiet, but felt a growing… unease. A strange feeling was welling in him, one he hadn't felt since he was a mortal._

_ Fluttershy was crying now, tears running down her face. "I was telling her that I would vouch for her, that none of you would harm her while under my protection. She was just a poor, innocent creature, and you just **slaughtered** her like a **heartless monster!**"_

_ She flew away, her sobs echoing strangely in the forest. Longinus looked at his sword, then at the body, then back to his sword. He wondered aloud, partly to himself and partly to the Emperor, "What the Hell just happened?"…_

* * *

Longinus had doubted that the creature was indeed sentient (and when one of his battle-brothers ate the brains of one timberwolf, they confirmed that indeed they weren't), and thus didn't care that he killed the creature. He would've done it a thousand times if the situation demanded it.

But it wasn't the killing that bothered him. It was the fact that he had shaken Fluttershy so badly.

It had occurred to him that what he had done went against what she stood for. Her talent was working with animals and creatures. She had been implementing that by trying to protect the pregnant monster, when he had come in and slayed her charge without a moment's hesitation.

Longinus wondered what was more discomforting to him; that he had traumatized their xeno host, or that he actually cared what she thought.

Either way, he felt compelled to "apologize" in some manner, or at least explain himself to the poor creature. Longinus had a talk with her, basically saying he was sorry for doing that to her, but that it was part of his duty to take out any potential threats. Fluttershy understood, saying it was her fault for not trying to stop him.

Point being, after that talk, it was an unspoken agreement that the Astartes wouldn't put the Pegasus through that type of trouble again.

So, as Fluttershy whimpered before him, he knew he really didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Fine," He sighed, "If it matters that much to you, I'll stay here then."

"Really?" The Element of Kindness perked up.

"Yes, its fine. You can go on ahead." He didn't have to check out the place _now_. Besides, if he _really_ wanted to look at the farm, he could always sneak over and do some scouting from the forest and no one would even know he was there.

"Oh, thank you, Longinus." She praised, flying up and wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. It caught him by surprise, and to a bystander it looked like he had grown a yellow and pink beard. She then released him, and flew off down the road. Longinus simply walked off to the landing zone; perhaps he could pick up some new weapons or something.

That left the familiar mailmare and guardsman on the road again.

"You sure you don't want to come along? There'll be _muffins_."

"Leave me alone, xeno scum!"

* * *

_10:55 A.M._

_Sweet Apple Acres_

There was a clacking sound as two swords collided, again and again. The two combatants warily stared each other down, waiting for a potential weakness to exploit. Asides from an obvious difference, the fighters were –surprisingly- evenly matched. As they were watched, the swordsmen fought with a certain intensity not often seen.

The smaller one would jump around like a Yoda-impersonator, using his natural speed and agility to keep his opponent moving, even jumping over him at times. The larger opponent had much more reach and experience, keeping the challenger at a distance, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

The giant slashed at his opponent, missing as he ducked and weaved. The midget saw his chance, and leapt over his foe. However, the giant had been counting on that, and swiped his feet underneath as he landed. While he was on his back, the giant planted his foot on his chest, and raised his weapon to strike.

"Time."

N'tho looked up. "How long was that?"

"Five minutes, twenty-three seconds," Vasquez informed him, "Twice as long as last time."

"Nice," Spike gasped out. "Uh, N'tho, your foot, could you please-"

"Of course." The Sanghelli lifted his cloven foot, and helped the little dragon up. No need to break the little guy's ribs after a little sparing with fake swords, right?

They were on the edge of the UNSC-CAR encampment, far enough away from the hustle and bustle to not be in the way, but still within the limits set with AJ and Trixie. Since the meeting at Rarity's, Spike had been coming over to learn about fighting from the Sanghelli and his buddies. While many troops thought it strange that the group leaders would accept this little bugger, N'tho saw something in the dragon. When he had been playing with the sword, he was displaying techniques and speed that he himself took years to master. Sure, he was clumsy and his footwork needed some fixing, but Spike had proven himself to be a quick learner.

Besides, Spike could provide a bountiful harvest of Intel on the natives, as he would often ask their opinions on all kinds of things. Alan noted humorously that Spike had taken to N'tho (and vicariously Cassius and himself) much like how the human had taken to his Uncle Billy. Apparently, father-figures were in short supply in Ponyville.

"Nice job, little guy." Alan complimented the dragon, giving him a canteen. "That's almost as long as mah time."

"Thanks." Spike drank greedily. "Still fell for the foot swipe, though."

"Remember to curl up and roll out when you land." N'tho instructed. "You're small and quick, play to your advantages. And keep working on your footwork. There were a few times that you crossed your feet. Even at a distance, I could've rushed in while you were off-balance and taken you."

"Still," Cassius pointed out, "It's rather impressive how quickly you have improved. It's been two days, and you are progressing through techniques that usually take _years_ to understand."

Spike smiled, and tried not to blush. It was rather unbecoming of a warrior.

As they headed over to the makeshift cafeteria, Alan asked, "Hey Spike, what's the deal with those tattoos on all the ponies' rears? Is it some kind of clan marker or somethin'?"

"Oh, those are cutie marks."

"Huh?" The aliens grunted.

Spike tried to think of the best way to explain. Cutie marks were something _everyone_ on Equestria knew about, so it never really had to be explained. "Cutie marks are a representation of a pony's special talent. They get it around adolescence, and it defines what makes each individual unique. It's something that only occurs on its own, and only ponies and zebras get them."

The others nodded, understanding the concept. "So," N'tho questioned, "Trixie's wand and sparkles represent, what, magic?"

"That's what Twilight's mean, actually. Trixie's represents showmanship and stage magic, which is just illusions and stuff."

"'Kay," Vasquez countered, "But Applejack's represents her talent for apple-farming, right?"

"Yep."

"So why does Rarity have a diamond design when she makes outfits?"

Before Spike could answer, the gang heard a commotion coming from a nearby tree house. Apparently, the CMC were trying to explain the very same concept to a pack of Ungguoy. And they weren't getting very much sympathy.

"So let me get this straight." Corporal Digdug, the leader of the Grunts (and obviously the smartest) asked. "You girls spend all your time doing all kinds of dangerous and ridiculous stuff, all in the hopes of getting some magical tattoos and some form of validation?"

"Yep." Scootaloo chirped.

"Darn tootin'." Applebloom exclaimed.

"Absolutely." Sweetie Belle declared.

"… Don't you think that's a bit, I dunno, _shallow_?" The Grunt questioned.

The fillies scoffed, shocked at such an appalling accusation. "We are _not_ shallow!" Scootaloo shouted. "You won't believe the crap that we go through at school. We get bullied, trolled, get all kinds of injuries looking for new talents- what are you doing with your fingers?"

"It's the galaxy's smallest violin, and it's playing for you."

"Digdug, be nice." One of the Grunts cautioned. "They just childrens. The big sisters, they beat us up if they find out."

"Its okay, Jimjim. Applejack and Rarity are not going to kill us because we set them straight. If anything, they might kill you 'cause you shot at them."

"I no shoot at pony! I shoot at bird! Why no one listen to Jimjim?!"

"That's my point right there, girls. You have no idea how hard it is to be an Ungguoy. We are always the first one into combat, the first one to die, and we never get any credit for it. My father got killed by a Spartan. My brother got eaten by the Flood. My sister's mate got launched out of an airlock on trash day. And for all that we do, none of the other races give us a second glance. So don't come to us to whine about the lack of a magical tat on your ass."

The fillies looked rather sad after their semi-scolding, and trotted away feeling humbled. Jimjim told his commander, "Wasn't that kinda mean?"

"I don't think so. Besides, they'll probably forget about it by tonight. Younglings have short memories. Let's go get some grub, I'm famished."

As the methane-breathers went about their business, Spike turned to N'tho and demanded, "Aren't you going to do something about them?"

"What about you?" His teacher countered. "The fillies are your friends."

"Yeah, but the Grunts as _your _troops. Isn't it your responsibility to discipline them or something?"

"They didn't say any lies. Their lives are that genuinely crappy, and it's not a bad thing to be humbled once in awhile. And if they were truly crossing the line, you would've felt compelled to intervene. Wouldn't you?"

Spike was about to argue the point, but it occurred to him that the Sanghelli was right; if Digdug was _really_ being a dick, his sense of nobility would've kicked in, and Spike would beat the crap out of him. His hesitation was noticeable, and N'tho made a "there you go" gesture.

Unbeknownst to the others, Cassius was watching an interesting sight. As his friends continued to head to the cafeteria, he told them, "Hey, my Spiker has been acting up lately. I'm heading over to the Workshop, and I'll catch up with you."

"That's cool." Alan said. "We'll see you later."

The others walked off, but the Brute kept his eyes locked. On the other side of the farm was a little yellow Pegasus with pinkish hair, carrying a saddlebag. She had a little skip to her step and was singing a happy little tune, as if to say to the world, "I'm being adorable, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

She was the cutest thing Cassius had ever seen. And she didn't know that she was being followed…

* * *

Fluttershy had finally arrived at the farm. She was happy to get out the makeshift camp filled with giant cyborgs and trigger-happy humans. But she certainly didn't expect a full-on military base on AJ's farm, completely filled with humans _and_ multiple alien races. It was definitely a good thing Longinus didn't come along. He would've certainly, as he put it, "Commit holy exterminatus in the name of Gulliman and the Emperor."

She didn't know what "exterminatus" was, but it certainly didn't sound nice.

All the same, it was definitely a good day to be outside. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, even the slight roar of the Pelicans and hum of Phantoms added to the gentle ambience of the moment. She sang a nameless tune, and felt lighter than air as she skipped across the farm. She was wondering where Applejack was when she heard-

"Ay, Sheila, whatcha got there?"

She turned around, and saw that she was being surrounded by a trio of bird-like lizard people. They had creepy red eyes, with tufts of feathers spread about their bodies like a case of rabies. The aliens would twitch their heads and arms this way and that, and were circling her in a rather predatory manner. Overall, they were very frightening.

Fluttershy tried to keep a brave face. "Oh, I'm just here to get some stuff from Applejack. Have you seen her?"

"Orange horsey?" The one who spoke, probably the leader, said. "Nope. Don't know, don't care. She ugly." The creature sounded weird. There was an odd fletching sound to it, like there was two of them. She heard it before with Garrus, but he was always friendly and nice. This one, however, sounded angry, greedy, and strangely… lustful?

This was really starting to head south. Fluttershy started backing away. "Well, uh, okay. I'll just go look for her then, if you don't mind. You all look busy, and I wouldn't-"

"We no busy, Sheila. " The creature hissed, his companions getting closer and closer. "Why not come with us? We show you good time, right boys?" The creatures hissed, looking her up and down, appraising her. One of them was even licking its scaly, disgusting lips.

Before things could get any worse, Fluttershy got herself some backup. Not a mighty Space Marine, but a big ape adorned in golden armor.

The Jiralhanae walked over to them, roaring and swearing in an alien language at the Kig-Yar. The Jackals tried to act all nice and innocent, but their Brute leader wasn't fooled. With a roar and a pointed finger, the Kig-Yar got the point, and with an annoyed and disappointed look walked away.

The Brute grunted, and turned his attention to the Pegasus. "Those Kig-Yar didn't hurt you, did they?"

"Oh no." She told him. She didn't want any trouble because of her. "They were okay. You don't have to worry, they didn't do anything."

"Don't bother flattering them." He snorted. "Those Jackals would've robbed you of everything if they were being _nice_. You don't want to know what those creeps do when no one is watching them."

"Oh my." Fluttershy didn't think she _wanted_ to know what they were capable of. "In that case, thank you for saving me, mister, um…"

"Cassius. And your name is 'Fluttershy', right?"

"Yes, it is. While we're talking, you wouldn't have happened to see Applejack around, have you?"

"No, but I can help you look around. It's probably better to have an escort you around, lest those Jackals try to make another move. Come with me." He turned and began walking, and the Pegasus followed.

The rest of the day, Cassius and Fluttershy were all over Apple Base, as it would eventually be called. They did eventually find AJ, and got the supplies Fluttershy came for. She also got a full escorted tour, meeting with his friends and commanders, seeing the various weapons and vehicles, the whole nine yards. She even talked a bit to Spike, who was looking more mature and defined every day. Fluttershy, who considered herself an excellent judge of character, found everyone except the Kig-Yar to be really nice and sincere, going about their jobs with a sense of duty and honor she'd rarely seen.

And Cassius… well, Fluttershy thought that he was to these people what Longinus was to the Imperials: Her protector. She would later find out that Jiralhanae had a stereotype of being warmongering, bloodthirsty berserkers. But she found Cassius to be quite the opposite. He was caring, smart, gentle, just a generally nice guy. Like Big Macintosh, only more talkative.

At the end of the day, she said her goodbyes to everyone, and went walking back to her home. As she strolled down the dirt road, she thought, _I bet it would be really nice if Cassius and Longinus got to meet each other. They'd have so much to talk-_

She stopped in her tracks. She realized that, while Cassius might not have a problem with other visitors, Longinus and his friends most certainly would. He had told Fluttershy of all the times she had gone about slaying filthy xenos, how ponies were, as of right now, the only aliens worth sparing from holy fire. If he met Cassius, or Garrus, or any of the others…

Fluttershy whimpered in the evening quiet. This was getting way too dangerous, too close to home. She couldn't bear to imagine what types of hell could come if things went bad…

* * *

**A/N: Important Announcement Alert!**

So, here we are at the tenth installment of Peace and Isolation. Like I promised, I shall now open up a forum, where you can feel free to contribute ideas and/or stories. Since this is a multiverse fic, it doesn't necessarily have to be 40k or MLP (although having one or both of them would be nice). Also, sinceI'm new to this, if anyone would like to assist as a moderator or something like that, I certainly would appreciate it.

The link is myforums/McKnight2012/4231019

'Til next time. McKnight out.


	11. 9: The Meeting

**A/N:** Here it is, the first chapter of the new year! And its the big one; the one where finally, everyone is in the same room. Does it go swimmingly? Does everyone die? Read on to find out.

* * *

_Chapter 7_

_A week in Paradise (part three)_

_The Meeting_

* * *

_"Up until the war, the most nerve-raking moment of our lives was that Meeting. Bringing Shepard's team, the UNSC and the Emperor's men into one room, hoping that our mediation and the Princesses' intervention would keep them from blowing themselves up. It scared me, because all the friendship and magic in all of Equestria couldn't control human nature."- Twilight Sparkle_

_"You can't always get what you want._

_But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need."_

- _Rolling Stones_

* * *

_The First Contact happened on a Monday, a day meant for starting a new cycle. The week had been dedicated to establishing a relationship with the aliens, gaining their trust and friendship. And in that respect, they had succeeded._

_Then came Friday._

_Friday was the day that put it all to the test. The Princesses had made it known that they would introduce everyone to each other. The operation was of the gravest importance, and would require the utmost care and attention to pull it off._

_If it went well, it would usher a new age of galactic trust and friendship, crafted out of Equestrian Ideals. If it went bad, it would light a war that would destroy their world, and send the new multiverse into a dark age of hatred, bloodshed and damnation._

_No pressure. No pressure at all._

* * *

_Whitetail__ Forest_

_1023 hours_

The crew of the _Normandy_ went about their business, but Garrus and Shepard were handling some rather important developments.

"The Princesses want to meet us?" Shepard asked. He had expected that these "alicorns" would want to talk to them. What surprised them was that it had taken the better part of a week for them to get around to it. Garrus couldn't help smiling; even though it was agreed by everyone to not give away their secret, the Turian couldn't help the thought of meeting Celestia and Luna for the first time.

"Yep." Rainbow Dash answered, escorted by Gilda. "They had been busy with some foreign affairs in Saddle Arabia, but are really excited to meet you guys."

Gilda merely sat behind her, watching them in a rather brooding fashion. Garrus would notice her looking at him and Shepard, but while she might give an occasional glare, she remained silent. It occurred to the Commander that she was actually doing passable imitation of Jack.

Speaking of which, Shepard was running out of ways to keep her and Grunt occupied. Without drugs, sex or killing, the biotic and the Krogan had been even more short-tempered than usual. Fortunately, the two walking embodiments of death spent most of their time either sparing each other, or taking their aggression out on trees. Problem was, now the forest was running out of trees.

"We'd be honored to meet them." Shepard continued. "As long as I can bring some of my crew."

"Of course," Dash agreed, "You can bring a few guys. Just make sure to be there around six tonight, alright?"

"We'll be there."

As the two fliers went out, Garrus waited until they were out of sight before he gave a rather uncharacteristic giggle. "Damn, Shepard," He practically gloated, "This just keeps getting better and better! We're going to see the Princesses!"

"Uh, Garrus," Shepard put a hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps you can take it down a notch; you're starting to weird me out."

"Sorry, but I can't help it! Its Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, _the_ rulers of Equestria. They're as close to actual gods as we are ever going to get, if the show is anything to go by."

"So I've been told. I also hear they're pretty fine, if you catch my drift."

"Yeah, they've always been seen as beau-"

He stopped midsentence, and looked at his friend. Shepard arched an eyebrow. Garrus did the same. "You've been checking out the 'Rule 34' stuff, haven't you?"

"Garrus please." Shepard smiled. "But seriously, I just did some peripheral research, and some files had popped up. Not as good as Fornax, but it certainly had its moments."

They shared a laugh at that. Spirits knew that once their galaxy found out about the ponies, it would only be a matter of time before they'd get "marketed", both the old animation and the real thing. Hopefully, the extranet would have the good sense to not bring up "Molestia", and create a horrid galactic incident.

…Hopefully.

"So, Shepard," Garrus asked, "You got a favorite pony yet? Just in general, of course."

"You know, I think Twilight is a PYT. If it weren't for Trixie being so… clingy, I guess you could say, I'd consider working my magic, you know? But hell, nothing wrong with just looking. What about you?"

The Turian pointed to his thunderbolt scar. "Who do you think?"

"Ah, Dash. Was she the one flying over the ship the other day, making a sonic blast?"

"Sonic Rainboom, and yes, she did a little show for me and a few of the crew. Had Gilda, Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts doing their thing, and I managed to videotape the whole deal. In exchange, I showed off my marksmanship for them. You should've heard the cheers they gave when I put a hole in a rock at 800 meters."

Shepard nodded. He was quiet for a moment, then asked, "Do you think we should tell them about the show?"

Garrus thought about that. In fact, he had been thinking about it ever since he knew this was Equestria. On one hand, the knowledge the show and fandom had provided was merely background information; stuff that was common knowledge, and wouldn't be a big deal to the ponies of Ponyville. On another hand, the evidence, if not the very idea of them being on a TV show from hundreds of years ago, may be of such a mental shock that it could break down their very sanity.

But, then again, Pinkie Pie probably already _knew_ she was on a show, the way she broke the 4th Wall all the time. If she could handle that knowledge, Garrus knew everypony else could.

So he told Shepard, "I think we can tell them. Just not yet. Let us meet with the royalty, see what needs to be talked about. After that, perhaps we can let them and the Mane Six in the know. Letting someone know their world was made for another world's entertainment can be very… existential, I think…"

* * *

In the Whitetail Forest, Dash pulled Gilda off the road to have a little chat.

"Gilda," She started, "Care to tell me what's your problem with Garrus?"

Gilda's first reaction was to say, "_I don't have a problem."_ But the griffon knew better. Rainbow had got better at reading her emotionally, and knew when something was up. Gilda wouldn't pretend that everything was fine, and have a repeat of Pinkie's party.

So instead, the griffon asked, "Why do you trust him?"

That caught the Pegasus off-guard. "What?"

"You heard me." She pointed a claw at her old flame. "Why do you trust him so much? It's only been a week and you've already given him a private show. Heck, you've been talking with Pinkie Pie about having him go pranking with us, and he hasn't even had one of her cupcakes yet. Who says no to a Pinkie cupcake?"

"Hey, we both know why he can't have our food. His body can't digest it, and he could suffer an allergic reaction. Besides, Faber said he didn't want her cupcakes either. Does that mean he's extra dangerous, too?"

"That's not the point, Dash, and you know it!" She shouted.

"Then what is it, Gilda?!" The Pegasus demanded. "Because we can't afford to be suspicious of _all_ the aliens. There has to be one group of nice people. Otherwise, who _can _we trust?!"

"I just don't want to see you get hurt, you dweeb!" The griffon declared. "Seriously, have you even _looked_ at this guy? He has a scar in the shape of your cutie mark _on his arm!_ Doesn't that bother you even a _little_ bit?!"

Rainbow Dash was quiet. She wanted to peg Gilda's concern to simple jealousy- and in all fairness, it was probably a large component of her complaint- but at the same time, she knew her friend's concern was justified. She had known Garrus for a better part of a week, yet somehow the Turian had demonstrated knowledge of her, her friends and her world that spoke of in-depth experience. How did he know so much about Equestria? She didn't know how, but she needed to address it.

So, Rainbow Dash simply asked, "Gilda, do you trust me?"

Gilda didn't quite follow. "Dash, I-"

"No, stop right there. Don't worry about Garrus. Don't think about the other aliens, don't think about the Princesses, and don't think about our friends. This just between you and me." The Pegasus put a hoof on the griffon's shoulder, standing very close to one of her oldest friends. "Gilda, do you trust _me_?"

Gilda ran a clawed hand through her rainbow, and leaned close. "Dash," She whispered, "You know I trust with my life."

"Then trust me on this." Rainbow moved her hoof up to the griffon's cheek. "I'm a good judge of character. I know it all seems a bit suspicious, but I've looked into his eyes. I know for a fact that he would _never_ do anything to hurt us. The Imperials may have come for the Emperor, and N'tho's troops may be here for the Chief, but Garrus only wants to help us."

The griffon merely grunted, but still looked into her eyes.

"As I remember," Dash continued, "There once was a time in flight school when I saw a bunch of kids bullying a new student. She wasn't a Pegasus, was all on her own, didn't have a single friend. Everypony I knew said that she was a lost cause, that pegasai couldn't be friends with griffons. But when I looked into your eyes, I knew that there was so much more to you than a big scary bird. You were strong, loyal, smart and beautiful, Gilda; and you still are."

They were awfully close at this point, practically nose to beak. "I'm not wrong about Garrus, 'cause I wasn't wrong about you. You've always trusted me, even when the going got tough; I'm only asking for a little more. Can you do that for me?"

"Always, Dash." Gilda leaned in, hoping to (finally) get back to first base. She was sorely disappointed, when she ended up only getting neck. Dash chuckled with her mischievous grin.

"Easy there, lovebird. You didn't think I'd end up being _that_ easy to get back, did you?"

She jumped into the air, rapidly flying away. "If you want some," She called back, "You're gonna have to catch me before we get back to the Library!"

"Oh, it's on!" Gilda shouted, and immediately flew off for her "prey"…

* * *

_1135 hours_

_Apple Base_

"The Princesses wanna do _what now?_" Vasquez demanded. This was an interesting turn of events.

"They want to meet with you up in Ponyville." Trixie told him. "I believe they wanted to speak to you about when the Chief can be given, and possibly trade concessions. You know, minor stuff."

Alan was with his alien friends, and Trixie had brought along Spike, Applejack and Rarity. They all tried to maintain a veil of calm determination and control, but the ponies noticed with increasing alarm that the amount of troops and vehicles that were rolling around. The commanders insisted that this was just the normal level for a garrison- somewhere in the hundreds- and it still wasn't the same amount as the Imperials were bringing in- in the thousands. But it was still rather unnerving that, if things went sour, there would be two armies ready to go and duke it out around them.

"We'll have to bring this up with the Captain and the Shipmaster- they'll want to talk to the Princesses personally." N'tho told them, "But I think we'll be able to make it."

"Excellent. We shall see you then. Come on, girls."

Trixie, Spike and Fluttershy started making their way back down the road, and Cassius and N'tho went back to speak to their troops. But Applejack stayed with Vasquez for a moment, wanting to talk about… something.

AJ and Alan had become rather good friends over the past week, having a similar background in farming and country living. While the commanders could do their deals with Trixie and the ambassadors, Alan and his amigos could always count on the farm pony to give them the honest truth about how things were.

In return, Vasquez was always calm and understanding with whatever she had to tell him. It occurred to the earth pony that this human had been a better listener than most of her friends- certainly better than Rainbow Dash, and almost better than Twilight. They had even spent several evenings together, talking and exchanging stories about their worlds. Needless to say, the rumors of them being a "thing"- along with Cassius and Fluttershy- just kept on growing.

With all that in mind, Alan asked her, "So, is there anything else we should know about?"

Applejack hesitated. She was unwilling to let the secret go just yet, but also unwilling to lie to her friend. So she asked in turn, "Do you like surprises?"

"What?"

"Do you like surprises?"

The human shifted uncomfortably. "Can't say ah do. Ah prefer to be in the know about things. What's this all about, AJ?"

"Ah… ah'm not supposed to tell you. All ah can say that it's going to be important, and all ah can ask you is to stay calm, no matter what. Can you promise me that?"

"Yes, ma'am." He answered without hesitation. A rather odd action, in hindsight.

Applejack considered making him pinkie swear, but didn't want to press the issue further than it had to be. "Ah'll see you later, then." She told him, and trotted off with her friends.

Vasquez considered why he was so willing to go along with what the orange alien wanted. Could it _really_ be because… no, of course not. That would be silly.

Sure, humanity still had those old ideas and fantasies involving aliens and whatnot, but those had died down quite a bit when they encountered the real thing. Nobody had ever tried anything with an Elite or a Brute, for the simple reason that such a pairing couldn't work in any possible way. There were rumors of a joint colony between humans and Jackals out there, but that was often put in the same group as the most vile of fetishes.

But then again, when it came to this world and its inhabitants, the old "Captain Kirk impulse", as it had been now called, didn't seem all that strange. Here was a collection of races where you didn't have to worry about having your face eaten off or breathing the same air. Here was a people that had never killed a human before, and would be honest about things without having an ulterior motive.

Course, it _did_ help that Applejack was the cutest damn thing he'd ever seen.

Putting that train of thought aside, Vasquez followed his comrades back to base, looking to get a few volunteers to come along as escorts…

* * *

_1200 hours_

_Forward Base **Aquila**_

_Thought of the day: Life is the Emperor's currency. Spend it well._

"So," The Inquisitor mused, "Celestia finally wishes to have an audience with us?"

"Yes, she does," Twilight answered, "Along with Princess Luna. They had been talking with your Emperor for some time now, and wish to speak with you about some of the things they covered." Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie nodded in agreement, the party pony being uncharecteristically quiet. Kriel and Longinus merely watched them, backing Creighton up even though it was completely unnecessary.

In the five days that the base had been on Fluttershy's property, it had expanded exponentially. As of now, a tenth of the entire army brought along had been deployed, and the first of the armored units were landing as well. How they planned to bring in a Leman Russ tank, let alone the possibility of a Titan, was anyone's guess.

"Would you happen to know what, pray tell, they wish to talk about?"

"I do. But she was implicit that she wanted to speak with you and your associates in person."

Creighton raised an eyebrow. _Well played,_ He thought, _Looks like she's finally learning._ He had wondered how long it would take the little unicorn to wise up when it came to negotiating. A lesser Inquisitor would've been a little peeved at losing such an advantage, but Mendel was looking forward to having a little competition to work with.

"Fine." He said. "But I am sure your Princess wouldn't mind if I brought a few associates with me?"

"Absolutely." Fluttershy butted in. "So long as Longinus is one of them."

The Space Marine was amused. "And why is that, Fluttershy?"

"Because you hold yourself accountable." She smiled. "And the Princesses have great things about you, and wanted to meet you in person."

Of course, there was more to it than that. Out of everyone from the _Wrath,_ Longinus and Faber were the ones who connected with the ponies the most (although Faber did so unwillingly). Longinus was by far the most reasonable of all the Imperials, and thus would be the one most needed to keep the rest of his people in check.

The Ultramarine turned to the Inquisitor. "Is this acceptable for you, my lord?"

Creighton scowled. He _really_ didn't want the Sergeant to come along. He had somehow become a source of undermining, questioning his methods without doing anything blatantly heretical. He had gone to Captain Numitor about it, but simply told him that he had a mind of his own. "_In any case_," He had said, "_His performance here may be worthy of moving him up to a higher Company_."

That grated him. On a mission as important as this, the Inquisitor might be able to get a moderate promotion, while that xeno-sympathizing upstart would get more glory, and maybe even get his own Company.

And now everyone was looking at him to acquiesce this demand. If he did, it would make him look like he was taking orders from aliens. If he didn't, he would be seen displaying a personal prejudice against an up-and-coming Astartes, causing a wedge between him and the troops.

This certainly put him between a rock and a hard place. If it weren't for that yellow xeno, he'd-

Then it hit him. It was right in front of him the whole time, but it wasn't until that moment that it came to him. _Twilight isn't the manipulating ringleader here,_ He thought with a sudden clarity, _it's **Fluttershy**._ Ever since they had arrived, that meek little creature had wormed her way into the hearts and minds of honest Imperial troops, pulling at their feeble heartstrings while Twilight made a show of half-assed negotiations. These naive xenos had pulled the old "Eldar switch" without him getting even a slight hint.

_Clever girl._

The others were still waiting for him. Maintaining an outer calm, he said, "Of course he can. The commanders of both the Astartes and Guardsmen are coming along, so having one more shouldn't be too inconveniencing."

"Great," Twilight said, "We'll see you then."

The ponies trotted back down the road. Longinus and Creighton exchanged a glance that spoke volumes, before heading back to the camp. Longinus hoped that there wouldn't be any surprises. Mendel hoped- and almost prayed- that something would happen, and he would have a reason to slay these uppity xenos in righteous fury.

* * *

_1500 hours_

_Ponyville__ Town Hall_

It struck some ponies as rather ironic that the very place where Nightmare Moon made her grand appearance was the same place where four worlds would come together. The Summer Sun Celebration had been the beginning of Equestria's existence in the minds of humanity hundreds of years ago. Now, this would be the beginning of Equestria's golden age among the stars.

Ten minutes ago, all three groups had separately arrived, entering different sides into individual prepared rooms. Creighton had brought six Astartes (three Imperial Fists and three Ultramarines, including Longinus, Numitor and Gideon), six Guardsmen (including Faber and Lt. Osburran) and the Magos. Captain Brogan and Ship Master 'Valuum brought four humans, four Sanghelli, four Jiralhanae and four Unggoy (each led by Vasquez, N'tho, Cassius and Digdug). Shepard, having the smallest group, brought Garrus, Miranda and Tali.

After awhile, each group was met by Twilight, Applejack or Rainbow respectively. Each of them gave the visitors the same prepared speech; they were indeed going to meet the Princesses, but first they would have to be introduced to someone else. Before they would be let out, each of them had to give a Pinkie Promise to not freak-out. Not knowing the severity of what that promise entailed, but familiar with the custom, each of them went through the actions of the oath.

So now, the time had come for the doors to be opened, and everyone to be let into the Mane Hall. In it, the rest of the Mane Six, Trixie and Gilda were already ready and waiting for them. Now, while nopony was expecting everyone to automatically be friends right off the bat, they were somewhat hopeful that the various aliens would be only surprised, and perhaps willing to talk things out like civilized peoples.

But then again, think of it from the humans' perspective. Here they were, expecting to meet the rulers and deities of this world. Instead, they find themselves looking at supersized humans in armor, a veritable Tau-esque assortment of humans and aliens or a small band of mercenary-looking characters.

So, naturally, everyone there raised their weapons at each other, under the various shouts of "Xenos!", "Hostiles!" or "Holy Shit!" Weapons were locked and loaded, sights were set, and the place was on the edge of becoming a full-on shooting range.

"_WAAAIT! DON'T SHOOT!"_

Everyone turned to one corner to aim at the crier. It was Fluttershy, hovering between the guns of Longinus and Cassius. Rather ironic, if you think about it, that she would be in the prefect place to stop her two alien friends from blowing themselves up. She was facing the Marine, as it was plain to see that while the Brute couldn't hurt him, he could demolish the xeno.

"Longinus, put down your gun." She spoke soothingly. "These guys aren't here to fight you."

"Fluttershy," The Marine demanded, "Get out of the way."

"You don't have to kill him. He hasn't hurt anyone. He's friendly."

"Doesn't matter. I swore an oath to not harm you or your friends. The oath doesn't go for the filthy xeno behind you. Now again, _move._"

"But he's _my_ friend, Longinus! Can't you leave him alone?!"

"Who are you calling a 'filthy xeno'?" Cassius retorted, ignoring the mare between them. "Run for it, Fluttershy. This guy reeks of religious nutjob. Odds are that guy in the pointy hat made promises of multiple virgins when they all die."

"What did you say to me, _you foul alien?!"_

While the trio was arguing, Vasquez shouted angrily, "Dammit, AJ, what kinda surprise is_ this_?!"

"Now you know why we kept this secret," she told him, "You were goin' ta freak out when you found out."

"No shit we were goin' ta freak! What the hell, girl. Ah trusted you, and you stabbed me in the back!"

"No, that's not it at all! Ah'd never betray anyone like that!"

While AJ tried to explain, everyone in Shepard's team was glaring at Garrus. He looked back at them, and with complete innocence stated, "I don't know who these guys are."

"How can you _not_ know?" Tali demanded. "You know _everything_ about this place."

"Guys, Fluttershy was never friends with a giant ape or a supersoldier! Equestria never had humans in it outside of fanfics, and it was only ever invaded by changelings."

"So, how do we explain _these_ guys, then?" Miranda pressed.

"Clearly, we aren't the only aliens who came here. This is a bigger deal than I originally thought."

"But how is that possible?" Tali asked. "Shouldn't we have picked them from the sensors?"

"I bet the magical radiation was interfering with them. Even thermal readings were hard to pick up."

Back on the other side of the room, the Inquisitor was feeling rather pleased about being right with these foul xenos. Finally, the Imperials could do what they do best: _Purge._

"Clearly," he declared, "These little monsters have betrayed us. _As I expected._ Seargant, I order you to shoot that monkey, and the pony bitch with him."

Longinus glanced at him, and returned is gaze to the xenos. As much as the order struck him as stupid, he couldn't disobey the Inquisitor. Even if he did, Creighton would just order his Captain to do it, and he would slay him for dereliction of duty. It bothered him that he'd have to kill the ponies too- not because it saddened him, but because in truth he didn't think they broke their part of the deal, that his honor was still on the line with all this.

If anything, it was probably that hairy bastard behind her that told her to lie, manipulating Fluttershy and her friends to do this. A shame, really. He was starting to like this place.

"So be it." Longinus murmured, his finger tightening around the trigger, and-

_"STOP THIS MADNESS RIGHT NOW!"_

A shout, not so much heard through the ears as the mind, rang throughout the room, stopping the chaos momentarily as the ponies and soldiers tried to locate it. In the center of the room, an orb of pulsing blue and purple and red manifested itself. Everyone pointed their guns at it as it gave a final pulse of golden light.

In its place, two mighty alicorns stood in its place. The taller one, with her white coat and near-rainbow mane, wore armor of plated bronze and copper. The smaller one, with her dark blue coat and midnight mane, bore armor of silver and steel and chrome. Both sets covered almost all of their body, but neither one wore helmets, and both had their manes and tails tied into tight ponytails. And both held stern looks at the humans and aliens before them.

"_Sons of the Emperor,"_ Celestia demanded, "_Soldiers of the Mantle, Guardians of the Relay. All of you who are our guests, lower your weapons and listen to reason!"_

Everyone was silent, dumbfounded at these new entities. One solider-a Srgt. Connor of the ODSTs- had to be Captain Obvious, and ask, "Are you the Princesses?"

"Yes," Luna answered, "We are."

The ponies in the room kneeled before their monarchs, suitably awed by the aura of power glowing off them. The Haloites and Shepard's team, whether because of the spectacular vision or the pre-conceived reputation of these pseudo-deities, lowered their guns. Even Longinus lowered his.

The rest of the Imperial team, however, did not.

"Princess Celestia," The Inquisitor said, "Princess Luna, you have our thanks for saving our Lord. However, it appears as though your subjects betrayed what little grace they happen to deserve, keeping these heretics and xenos a secret from us."

"Don't be so eager to kill, warmonger." Celestia snapped, using a tone she reserved for a certain Changeling Queen. "I _made_ my subjects stay silent about these others for precisely what you demonstrate now. Your Emperor has told us much about you. You have been trained for thousands of years to 'kill first, ask questions never'. These ponies and these people have no quarrel with you, and seek a fight with no one. You are all our guests, and under the authority given to us by your Emperor, we _demand_ that you lower your weapons."

"Sorry, my little '_princess'_," Creighton sneered, "But neither I- nor any of us- take orders from _you."_

Luna sighed, giving herself a facehoof. "This is just stupid. Clearly, if you won't believe us, maybe you'll believe Him."

Suddenly, her eyes glowed white, and in Royal Canterlot Voice cried out "_ADAM! WE NEED YOU NOW! COME TO US, AND SAVE YOUR KIN BEFORE I SMITE THEM FOR THEIR STUBBORNESS!"_

_Adam?_ The others wondered. _Who the heck is that guy?_

As she did so, one of the more psychically-toned Guardsmen was levitated up into the air, ethereal strains of energy swirling into him. Shepard and his team had seen something similar to this before, and as such were frightened into action.

"Shit!" Shepard called out, "Its Harbinger!" Quick as a flash, the team drew their weapons and fired upon the man. The bullets would've torn through him if Luna hadn't raised a magic shield in front of the man, absorbing them. "What did we just say about shooting?!" She shouted, no longer in the RCV. "I thought you lot were the smart ones here." The team lowered their guns in sight embarrassment, and Luna brought down the shield -as Twilight and Trixie did the same with their own, fearing the richochets may've struck one of the equines.

The process finished, and the soldier came back to the ground. He appeared to be taller, larger, and his eyes glowed as white orbs. To those who didn't know him, this man bore a resemblance to certain individuals from history and myth, from Conan and King Arthur, to St. George and-

"Holy Shit!" Alan exclaimed, pointing at this new being, "Its _Jesus!"_

_"No, I'm not your Jesus."_ The Emperor told him. "_But I was him at one place and time."_

He turned to the Princesses, and acknowledged them with a nod. "_Celestia, Luna, don't worry about these fellows. I've got this."_

"My Lord," Mendel cried out, "Now that you're here, let us smite these disgusting aliens and heretics, before they bring ruin to us all!"

"_Silence yourself, you spineless worm!"_ Adam snapped at the Inquisitor, His host's eyes going from white to a dark gold. "_Who do you take me for, some backstabbing Changer of Ways?"_

_"_W-what?" Creighton stammered, taking a few steps back in surprise.

_"When I said not to bring harm to the ponies, I meant it. You may have added the part where you could defend yourself, but I knew you wouldn't need such an out. Instead, you would seek a way to squirm your way into a fight, as you are now. I said I owed these xenos my life, and I stand by that debt. Lower your weapons."_

_"_But what of the xenos and heretics?" The Inquisitor asked, incredulous yet fearful.

"_What of them?" _Adam retorted. "_They pose no threat to us, and harbor no ill will outside of what is justified. Of further note, we all have more important things that we all must worry about."_

He turned to the middle of the room, and energy manifested itself from his hands as a large orb of energy in the center of the room. There were many "oohs" and "ahhs" at the spectacle, the orb producing small arcs of electricity.

_"Behold!" _Adam continued. "_Our real enemies are fast approaching!"_

The orb cleared up, revealing the image of a giant metal squid floating through space. Shepard and his team silently gasped at the visage of Harbinger.

_"This monstrosity," _The Emperor explained, "_This Reaper, has sent his minions to weaken us, and to neutralize the good Commander and his followers before their army can come. While his kind are not powerful by the standards of the Imperium, they make up for it with numbers."_

The view expanded beyond Harbinger, to reveal three Reapers, then nine, continueing on until everyone could see an armada of hundreds, if not thousands of the metal behemoths. This, Shepard knew, was the massive Reaper Swarm that had taken down galactic civilization countless times before, and stood ready to do so again.

_"This,"_ Adam said darkly, "_Is not the only threat that shall befall us. Bearers of the Mantle, I think you are familiar with this one."_

The orb then changed to reveal a sight of absolute horror; the inside of a starship, its walls covered in putrid flesh, with tiny crawling zits with legs scurring about the floor. One such creature came across the dead body of a Sanghelli, and dug itself into its chest. Quicker than what is thought physically possible- and to the disgust and horror of the ponies- the corpse mutated and warped into a long-clawed, tentacled-mouthed zombie, screeching out a blood-curdling roar as it came to life.

_"This embodiment of undeath, this ever-so-aptly named Flood, has found intrest in this world, the current resting place of a certain hero who has beaten it on multiple occasions. Be wary, my children: for while they look like an easy kill, they posess a level of infection and growth that even Nurglites would have trouble replicating. Nothing short of total extermination of this Parasite will save this world, should it reach us."_

_"And of course," _Adam continued, now with a disdainful scowl, "_Where would we be without the Ancient Enemy to interfere in our affairs?"_

Once more the scene changed, and a vision of the most horrific kind of hell was seen. It was much like Luna's original vision, with its cities of flesh and eternal decadent orgies, of bizarre abominations and endless battlefields. But there was more to it now.

Now, there were new creatures moving about: hordes of mutated and mutilated humans were taking up arms, screeching obscenities and blasphemies against the Emperor. Massive abominations, holding enchanted and possessed weapons, sung praises to their dark gods, and gave commands to the mindless rabble. Here and there, metal giants- not much different form the Astartes in the room- marched with an air of haughty arrogance, their armor covered in mounted skulls and horns.

But most disturbingly of all- high above all of this, watching over it as if they were grand masters- were two distinctly equine creatures. No one could make out who exactly they were, only that they had the unholy mark of chaos glowing behind them, and radiated pure, unadulterated fear and hate to all who saw them.

_"Chaos is on the move,"_ The Emperor told them, "_Seeking both me and this world. Their numbers are countless, their powers beyond mortal measure, and they will not stop until everyone on this planet is either dead or corrupted."_

The orb of visions dissapated, and the room was filled with the looks of fear and dread. Outside of the Imperials- who faced stuff like this on an almost daily basis- none of them had expirienced or seen anything akin to the sights they saw, especially the ponies. The fact that those monsters, each of them terrifying and nigh-unbeatable on their own, were coming to their peaceful little world, was completely and utterly terrifying.

"What are we going to do?" Twilight demanded, an edge of panic in her voice. "How are we going to stop them all?"

"Well obviously," Osburran said confidently, "The Emperor will use His Divine Powers to smite them all, and leave what little remains for us to exterminate."

_"As much as I'd like to,"_ Adam replied, "_That will not be possible, at least right away. Although the Silver Tomb is almost finished, I will not be able to participate in any combat for at least another month."_

The Imperials were silent, disappointed even. _"You were early." _He continued. "_The warp carried you to me faster than I had anticipated. Although something unexpected should have been anticipated."_

Luna's ears flicked. It seemed like an odd choice of words for Him to use, almost as if He were alluding to something...

Captain Brogan then spoke up. "While I'm not sure of the potential danger this "Chaos" and these "Reapers" are capable of," He told them, "My men and I know the voracious and determined nature of the Flood. If they are coming here, this world cannot be saved. The only option we have is to evacuate this world and its inhabitants, glass the planet stop them from getting out."

"You will do no such thing to Equestria!" Celestia shouted, indignant at such a statement.

"_It_ _d__oesn't matter," _Adam said. "_Anyhwere you go won't be far enough to escape them."_

"What are you talking about?"

_"You may not have been able to notice, but we all come from completely different worlds. Mass Relays, Slipspace, the warp; they are all distinct modes of travel unique to our galaxies. And let's not even start with all the different nonhumans around here. The gist of the matter is that our three galaxies- our three universes- are now inseprably linked with this little world. And whoever controls it controls the fate of everything else."  
__"You could do as you suggest, and take the naitives back with you to your respective worlds. Maybe even keep both the portal and them a secret. Although you can't keep something **that** big a secret very **long**."_

He glanced over at Luna for half a second. Again, Luna was puzzled by the choice of words. _Is He saying He knows a secret? _She thought. _What of it? Does He know about how I... Oh buck, He knows!_

_"Just because you save a species and burn a world, doesn't mean that things won't follow you home. Creatures and monstrosities that have no way to prepare for. Forces at work that will not rest until everything you have worked for falls apart around you."  
"So, you can return back your respective homes, tell your superiors, buildup defenses for the inevitable invasions- which, by the way, isn't a bad idea- or you can stay here, call for reinfocements, and hold the line for the multiverse."  
"This is something I can only ask of you. Even of my people, the nature of this coming conflict is such that I can only ask of you to stay. Should anyone choose to leave, we will not hold it against you. But know that this fight, this Battle for Equestria, will be the most important fight any of you ever be a part of. So, what say you?"_

The Equestrians- both Princess and mortal- looked around the room, searching for the warriors who would stand with them. The room remained silent, as everything that had been said settled in. But unsurprisingly, it was Longinus who spoke up first.

"My Lord," He said, "You have deemed these people, these xenos, to be _sanctioned_ before you. If they are so worthy of your grace, then they are worthy of my bolter and my sword."

Then Cassius stepped forward. "I will stay." He declared. "Its been awhile since I've been in a fight. Might as well stay for something worth fighting for." Fluttershy smiled, her two new friends now going to work together, if only somewhat.

And when one of the Three Amigos- as they would later be known as- joined in, the others had to follow suit. Alan and N'tho joined as well.

N'tho told them, "It would be a shame to have started training such a warrior as Spike, and not see it through."

Alan merely said, "Its about time humanity met an alien race that looked like ass. No offense, N'tho." "None taken."

Garrus stepped forward, and would've done so regardless of Shepard's feelings about it. "Here is a world," He explained, "That's as close to a paradise as can be found still alive. I won't let it fall to the likes of the Reapers, or any other eldritch abomination."

Shepard- and thus the rest of the _Normandy's_ crew- got onboard with this, saying, "If your going to fight the Reapers, you might as well have the team that actually killed one. We're in."

Captain Brogan and Master 'Valuum nodded, and pledged their support. "Betcha Lord Hood and the Arbiter are going to have a field day with this." Mark murmured to his collegue. "Indeed, but not as much as President Klatosus or Admiral Jun." The Sanghelli returned.

All eyes turned back to the Imperials, as if they actually expected any answer besides "Yes." Numitor, Gideon, Osburran, Kriel and even Creighton all stepped forward and kneeled before Him. "We would follow you into the Eye of Terror if that's what you asked of us." Gideon answered for his comrades. "Fighting for you here makes no difference to us."

_"Then prepare yourselves," _Adam decreed, "_For we have but little time before our enemies fall upon us. Call upon your allies, summon your mightiest warriors, and steel your souls. Let this Imperial Alliance stand as a mountain against winds and tides; beaten upon, but unbroken and unbowed."  
"Celestia, Luna... I'll see you back in Canterlot."_

And with that, Adam released His host, leaving the room in silence. After a moment, Trixie got back up and said, "Well, we better get it, then. We have work to do..."

* * *

**A/N 2: **And the first story arc is... done! Now, we can move on from our introductions, and wade our way into the wars and invasion before us.

Now, some of you are wondering who "President Klatosus" and "Admiral Jun" are. Well, a fellow writer by the name of The Poarter is currently writing the first ever side fic for Peace and Isolation. Its called "War for Equestria: Political Spectrum", and its over in the MLP-Halo section.

What I like about his current work is, while mine focuses on Equestria and the charecters therein, his goes about examining the changes and affects that follow not just the discovery of a new planet, but two other vastly different universes. Its Halo-centric at the moment, but its set to reach out to all the other worlds as the battle picks up. If you liked Peace and Isolation, you'll also like Political Spectrum.

McKnight out.


	12. 10: Preparations (part 1)

**A/N: **Yaaay! Its finally done! Even through school, social life and an F-ed up computer, I finally finished this sucker! Also, from now on this will be on a monthly update, to meet with new commitments. Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 8 (part one)

Preparations

* * *

"_Its rather frustrating when the very leaders you're supposed to serve don't believe you about a threat. Its even more galling when you have to bring in four gods, a dozen new races and a pink pony defying reality before they finally listen."_

_- Cmdr. Shepard, on the Citadel Council_

"_God bless us Everyone._

_Will we burn inside the fires of a Thousand Sons, f__or the sins of our Hand, the sins of our Tongue, t__he sins of our Father, the sins of our Young?"_

_-Lynkin Park, "The Catalyst"_

* * *

_Now that everyone- from Imperial to UNSC to Equestrian- was on the same page, preparations began to fortify the world. The captains knew that if anyone were to survive this conflict- this possible three-way invasion of Chaos, Reapers and Flood- everyone would have to bring in their A-Game._

_For two of the three worlds, calling in reinforcements was relatively easy. The Emperor was already calling for any possible reinforcements to come. And when the Emperor asks for something, He gets it._

_The UNSC and CAR hailed their superiors for backup against the three invaders. Upon reviewing the evidence, and after speaking with the various leaders of each race and faction, an armada was assembled to save the new planet. Even without the Flood, both nations knew enough to stop a potential threat before it bore fruit._

_So in the end, it came down to Commander Shepard, Hero of the Citadel, to convince the Council and Alliance to send troops.  
_

_Turns out, that's easier said than done..._

* * *

_Equestria War: Day 2  
_

_Command HQ, Canterlot  
_

_1130 hours  
_

Shepard wasn't looking forward to this. His meeting with the Councilors was probably going to go as well as talking to a brick wall, even with Anderson as a member. It had taken them forever _just_ to somewhat recognize the Reapers as a threat, and even then they really didn't _believe_ him enough to start preparing.

The odds of convincing them to send ships and soldiers to a newly discovered world, fight an enemy they didn't believe in, and work with civilizations that only he had met, were somewhere between here and infinity.

But he had to at least make an attempt at it. And if he was going to do it, he would pull out all the stops. Shepard was going to give the Council so much evidence that not only were these people real, but the threats they were to face were real, and the Council would have no choice but to send a their forces. Even if it were a token task force.

In order for this to happen, he needed the Citadel and Systems Alliance to establish diplomatic relations with this newly established "Imperial Alliance." Right after the meeting was done, the various commanders of the ragtag fleet moved to Canterlot, establishing headquarters inside the Royal Palace. Shepard then made the order to take the comlink out of the _Normandy_, and bring it inside the castle for everyone to use (Although the quantum-entangled link to the Illusive Man remained onboard).

The task was rather difficult, and the Cerberus technicians had to get help from whoever was available. In the spirit of cooperation, various Admech techpriests, Huragok Engineers and unicorn machinists were loaned to finish the job. It was rather fun to watch, giving an insight to the minds of these new-found comrades. The Huragok had this weird knack of disassembling and reassembling everything, but when they were done it ran better than ever, and was much more durable. The techpriests were helpful, but were always going on about "appeasing the machine spirits", and were always chanting in binary or the pseudo-latin of High Gothic. And the unicorns- bless their souls- were very eager to help, but had no experience when it came to high tech equipment, and had to be instructed every step of the way.

In fact, the best pony machinist they had was a brown Earth pony. This particular stallion- called simply "The Doctor", for whatever reason- was Derpy's "special friend", if the rumors were true. But more importantly, he seemed to have an understanding of the Mass Effect technology far better than anyone else, almost better than Tali and Mordin. Whenever he worked on something, he had this weird-looking metal stick with him, which he may or may not use to make things work. He also spoke with an old fashioned British accent -even more odd, considering these equines had human accents sometimes.

Whenever questioned about either of these things, he would just smile and say, "Hopefully you chaps will never need to find out. Oh, and if you see a giant metal plunger shouting '_exterminate!'_ , let me know about it, right?"

Shepard wanted to write the pony off as a weirdo. But then again, most of the galaxy thought he was a weirdo too.

But back to the present moment, the comlink was finally ready. The holographic projectors were set up, the vid cam was aimed and ready, and the leaders and representatives were all in attendance. The Princesses were planning out their battle strategies in the other room, so the Equestrians were represented by the Element Bearers and their associates. The Three Amigos were also here for the Haloverse, and Faber and Longinus represented the Imperium. Each of them had been given a translator chip, so that they could both understand each other.

It all struck him as rather strange and surreal, being surrounded by metahumans, pastel ponies and giant armored aliens. But then again, Shepard worked with a psycho biotic, a former STG operative, a handful of Cerberus agents and a repentant assassin. You would think that he couldn't be surprised by anything anymore.

"Okay, Commander." Joker spoke over the speakers. "We are live and sending. You guys ready out there?"

Shepard scanned the many faces in the room, and each of them gave a nod or affirmative gesture. "We are," He replied, "Patch it through."

"You got it." As the signal connected, Shepard placed himself in front of the camera, so that the Councilors would only see him first. After the better part of a minute, four orange holograms popped up, revealing the forms of a Turian, an Asari, a Salarian and a human. These were the three Councilors that Shepard had saved during the Battle of the Citadel, and Councilor Anderson, Shepard's personal friend.

"Councilors, this is Spectre Matt Shepard reporting," He opened, "Can you read me?"

"We can hear you fine, _Commander._" Councilor Sparatus answered, his voice lightly touched with disdain. "Have you found any more proof of you 'Reaper threat?'" He used the infamous air quotes, making Shepard's fists clench. If anyone did it at any other time, air quotes were funny. When the Council did it, he wanted to punch someone in the face.

Keeping himself calm, Shepard continued, "No, Councilor. But I do believe you know why I asked to speak with you today, correct?"

"Yes, Commander," Councilor Tevos said, "We know why. We read the reports you sent us and the Alliance yesterday. And, quite frankly, it makes your original story on the Reapers sound almost believable in comparison."

"Quite so, Shepard." Councilor Valern agreed. "You must admit that this is pushing it. A conglomerate of humans and aliens searching for a lost super-soldier? A massive galactic empire looking for a living god? All on a world ripped off from an antique kid's TV show? Even_ you _must admit it sounds like a bad fanfic off the Extranet."

"You know how I feel about this, Commander." Anderson told him. "You know I would be willing to believe what you say, but you must have evidence to back this up."

"Of course, Councilors." Shepard replied. "And that is why I brought the representatives of the Imperial Alliance."

He stepped back and away from the camera, showing all the other representatives in the room. Twilight, Vasquez, Cassius and Longinus stepped forward and presented their case:

"Greetings, Councilors. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am the representative of the Equestrian Protection Pact. It is our desire to establish diplomatic relations with the nations of the Citadel, and if possible, obtain some military aid. I know that this may be asking a lot, but this is _not_ just a matter of my world, but of all worlds, including yours."

"_Hello, Councilors. Ah am Gunnery Sergeant Alan Vasquez of the United Nations Space Command. We are here not just for establishing connections, but to also help you. Whether or not you believe in Reapers now ain't important now; 'Cause they're comin', and they aren't the only threat ya'll be facin'."_

**"Councilors, I am Squad Master N'tho 'Vaddum of the Combined Allied Republics. I am aware that these statements may seem outrageous, but believe me when I tell you that everything we tell you is true. Our galaxy had a galactic threat at one time, and if our giant friend over here is right, he has at least half a dozen of them. Thus, it is not just in 'our' self-interest to protect this world, but 'your' interest as well."**

**_"Hail, xenos. I am Sargeant Longinus of the Ultramarines, representing the Holy Imperium of Man. What my fellows have said are indeed true. I have seen the nature of these Reapers, as well as the likes of horrors you cannot even imagine. If you do not fight alongside us now, the fight will come to you. And I know for a fact that none of you will survive such a tribulation."_**

"Our point is, fair Councilors, that we are in desperate need of your help. We ask that you, in your great wisdom and kindness, send your forces to save us. What say you?"

Everyone was quiet then, waiting for the Council to respond. Before any of them could respond, Sparatus scoffed. "_Seriously_, Commander?" He sneered. "_This_ was your ace in the hole? Two human actors and a bunch of CG? That unicorn is _clearly_ an animated hologram of some kind, and the alien and giant are _obviously_ animatronic puppets."

"I don't think those are fake, Sparatus." Anderson said. "The unicorn, _maybe,_ but everything else looks legitimate."

"HEY!' Twilight shouted, "I am _not _fake! Just because I have an outline does not mean I'm not real!"

Tevos and Valern kept quiet, still trying to process the bizarre scene. Four new civilizations? At least two new species? Threats of galactic terror? All they could think to ask was, "Where did you find this place?"

"Well, Councilors, I was rescuing all the abducted colonies that _you_ did nothing about, when we were attacked by Collectors. We had passed through a newly discovered relay, and found this-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Sparatus interrupted. "You _opened _an undiscovered Mass Relay, and you didn't tell _anyone?!"_

"My ship was in danger, our escape was blocked. What was I supposed to do?"

"Not risk another Rachni War, for one thing! Honestly, Commander, are you _insane__? _There are reasons why we don't randomly open Relays; so we don't risk meeting up with completely unknown threats, as your friends pointed out for us."

"But you just said that they weren't real." Shepard countered.

"So?" Sparatus snorted. "Just because those are obvious VIs doesn't mean they can't have valid points. So, regardless of the situation, you are not getting any troops, and you'll be lucky if we don't revoke your Spectre status!"

Before Tevos or Valern could say anything, something strange was picked up by the camera. One moment, there was nothing in the background. Next moment, there appeared to be a very tall hologram of something behind the speakers.

"_Pardon me, friends,"_ A voice spoke, originating from the hologram's direction, "_But are these Councilor fellows having trouble believing your words?"__  
_

"Indeed so, my Lord." Longinus reported. "The xenos take us to be a collection of actors and illusions."

"_Is that so?"_ The hologram continued, beginning to walk to the Councilors' projections. Everyone moved to give the shining figure room to walk.

Sparatus, thinking this was just another VI, barked out, "Program, identify yourself!"

"_I am no Program, you dull creature!"_ Adam snapped, having too much to focus on to be patient with the likes of the Turian. "_I was alive and well back when your kind was just discovering fire. My civilization has been alive longer than all of yours combined! I am the Emperor of Mankind, and I do not suffer fools like you!"_

Sparatus merely crossed his arms, and said, "Prove it." The other three Councilors shifted idly, becoming increasingly uneasy.

_"Gladly."_ Adam's projection had reached arm's length of the holograms. With the raising of His mighty right hand, He reached out and back-handed all four Councilors. Thousands of light-years away, in various locations on the Citadel, each of them felt the impact of a righteous bitch-slap across their faces, and staggered. It was rather terrifying for them- each of them had been in their individual suites, by themselves, with nothing and no one that could've hit them.

"What the hell?!" Tevos exclaimed, her hand resting on her struck cheek. She stared at the projection in front of her. "Did you do that?"

_"Indeed I did."_ Adam answered. _"I used my metaphysical warp powers to reach across the multiverse and and interact with your life energy. Or, laymen's terms, I reached across the cosmos, and spiritually bitch-slapped the taste out of your mouths."_

The room was silent. This was the first time any of them had seen the Emperor do anything physical. It was also the first time anyone heard Him speak so crudely, and it seemed both terrifying and awe-inspiring.

The Immortal continued, "_Time is running short, and I cannot spare anyone's time in preparations. I ask not for your entire navy, but for whatever spare forces you are willing to send. We will make sure the way here is open, and you will be help rid the cosmos of its greatest threats."_

The Councilors looked at each other, and Valern said, "And what's in it for us? Its not everyday we go about declaring war."

_"If you join us, we will be more than happy to exchange technology. Technology not dependent on Mass Effect."_

"Space tech not based on Mass Effect?" Tevos questioned. "I find that hard to believe."

"_Harder to believe than me?"_

"...Toche."

Anderson then said, "I think sending a few fleets and divisions your way shouldn't be too difficult. Admiral Hackett and the 5th Fleet can lead the Citadel forces to the Terminus systems under the guise of 'war games'. Reaching Omega may be dicey, but I believe Ms. T'Loak will understand the gravity of the situation."

"That seems... reasonable." Tevos conceded. "Shall we vote upon it?"

"I think sending an STG team to this new world would not be unwise." Valern agreed. "My vote is yes."

Everyone turned to Sparatus, and he sighed, acknowledging defeat. "The Turian Heirarchy can send in an exploratory fleet, if this is what the Council decides."

"Then we are in agreement." Anderson announced. "The Citadel shall join your cause."

"_Very well. There will be a task force waiting for you- either one of my Battlefleets, or a UNSC formation. Prepare for heavy fighting upon arrival. Good luck."_

The video feed shut off, and the holograms disappeared. Adam's projection dissipated- He had to return His focus to more important things. Shepard exhaled. "Well, that went better than expected, thanks to Him."

"What ah don't understand," Vasquez pondered, "Was how he found out about the other task-fleets. We only found that Admirals Cutter and Mendez were bein' mobilized an hour ago. They won't reach us for a few weeks."

Twilight was still miffed. "Do I _really_ look fake?" She demanded indignantly.

"You _do _have an outline." Longinus pointed out.

"Well... your faces have too many shadows!"

"I would say your's doesn't have enough."

Twilight growled in annoyance, but Shepard just laughed. "Its okay, Titty Sprinkles," He told her, "You still look adorable, regardless of your realness."

The unicorn groaned in exasperation. Surely there were better saviors for ponykind beside these ridiculous humans...

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

At the gate of Canterlot Castle, the Royal Guard had been augmented with the various troopers of the Halo task force and Imperial ship. Perhaps it was because the Guards were great mediators, or perhaps it was the looming prospecting world-ending combat. Either way, the various Astartes, Guardsmen, ODSTs and various alien troops got along swimmingly.

Upon royal decree, both the Day and Night Guard were up, serving together with the visitors. Since Shining Armor had left to become a Prince, the Captain of the Guard position was divided between the head of the Lunar and Solar Guards- Midnight Blossom and Cloud Skipper, respectively. The main difference between regular pegasai and Lunar Guard were their draconian eyes and wings, signifying their creation via dragon-pony breeding and Luna's magical engineering.

At the moment, Blossom was chatting with Faber and Derpy, while Skipper kept an eye out to the horizon.

"So then this mare," Faber was telling them, gun to his side, "Cloud Kicker, I believe her name was- finally said, 'What do ya say? Wanna bang?'"

The other mares chuckled. Both of them were familiar with the promiscuous pegasus- Derpy had been a marefriend of hers for a few months, and Midnight's family were pegasai nobility, alongside Kicker's family. Both of them knew Cloud's amorous yet genuine nature, and could guess at what would happen next.

"So I told her, "I'm afraid I must decline your offer. Even putting aside the inter-species blasphemy, xeno, I don't ride village bicycles."

The mares bursted out laughing, and even the stoic Skipper creaked a smile. After a beat, Derpy then asked, "Mr. Faber, what's a 'village bicycle'?"

Faber gave an awkward laugh. "Well," He explained, "Among non-heretical humans, a 'village bicycle' is a woman who likes to ride as many-"

"Buck, is that Princess Cadence?" Cloud Skipper exclaimed, pointing to the pony couple approaching. Looking up, the pony guards, Guardsman, and many other watchmen observed the royal arrivals, weapons raised and ready. The ponies and griffons, most them good friends with the old Captain, convinced their alien counterparts to lower the guns.

As the Crystal Princess and her husband stopped at the gate, Cloud Skipper hailed, "Hey, Captain- or should I call you Lord, now? What brings you back home?"

The white unicorn called back, "We've been summoned by the Princesses. They said something big was going to happen, and they needed Cadence and I back home."

The Guards looked at their alien coworkers. "_That's one way to put it_." Skipper murmured.

But Blossom then asked, "But what about the Crystal Empire?"

Cadence answered, "Celestia told me they'd be fine. But I'm going to have a... 'polite conversation' to see if she can her mind and let me go back."

"_Good luck with that_." She mumbled. She then gave the order to open the gate and let them in. They were given two escorts- a unicorn and a Sanghelli- and were led to the Command HQ.

As the Royal Couple went down the halls, they took greater notice of the aliens- or rather, the sheer abundance of them. Everywhere they went, there were at least one alien creature for every two ponies. Talking to the unicorn, Shining learned that the majority of them were humans, with a large mixture of other races sprinkled about. All of them had armor, guns, and watched them with interested respect.

Cadence, however, barely even acknowledged them. Her mind was still troubled for having to abandon her people, and was dead set on getting an honest answer from her older relatives. It was _their_ idea to set her up as the returning Crystal Princess, after all.

In HQ, the alicorns were discussing various defense strategies with the other commanders. It had already been decided that the humans and their comrades would do most of the fighting, as they had the most technology and veteran soldiers. Not to say there weren't true warriors among the various peoples of Equestria; it was just that the number of those who properly use guns- and had the mental fortitude to fight an unrelenting foe- were rather limited, somewhere in the hundreds.

Adam's projection had also been in the room, giving valuable advice and information about both Chaos, and the terrain and nature of the planet. Luna was on the other side of the map, working with the commanders of the other races to coordinate with the aliens. Neither of them had spoken to the other since yesterday, but Luna knew better than to press the subject. Their were a lot of factors to consider, and Adam was not a person to boldly rush into decisions.

All the same, would it hurt to get a hint? After all that she and her sister had done for Him, couldn't He afford to be upfront and honest with them and the humans? After all, they worshiped the Emperor, His word was law. If Adam said He wanted to be with a sanctified xeno, surely they would understand, wouldn't they?

Either way, that could wait. There was work to be done.

Captain Brogan had been saying, "This land around 'Appleoosa', as its called, is a vast, flat desert, which would make it a prime beachhead for any starships. At the same time, though, its also suited for tanks, mechs and artillery. On our ship, we have 500 Scorpions, 800 Warthogs, 300 Mantis walkers, 50 Elephants, and two Mammoths. We also have five _Fafnir_-class 'Battle' mechs, and one _AGE_-class Jumper- or 'GUNDAM'- mech."

"What's the difference between a 'Battle' mech and a 'GUNDAM' mech?" Celestia asked.

"Simple." The human explained. "Battle mechs have a lot of firepower, but can't fly. GUNDAMs have limited weaponry, but are capable of entering and exiting space." The Princess nodded in understanding.

Shipmaster 'Valuum then stepped up, and said, "We are similarly prepared for such a large-scale vehicular combat. We were fortunate enough to come along with 600 Wraiths, 900 Ghosts, 600 Locusts, 100 Scarabs and one Seraphim."

"What's a Seraphim?"

"Its like a Scarab, but three times the size. Its considered a mobile base, and can only be deployed via offloading, whereas Scarabs and Locusts can be airdropped."

He looked up at the Inquisitor and the other commanders. "Now what, pray tell, are you bringing to battle?" He asked, although there was a slight edge of challenge.

Magos Kriel stepped forward, and answered in his monotone voice, "We, xeno, have plenty in the way of heavy weaponry. At our disposal are five _Reaver_-class Titans, four Stormswords, five Stormlords, three Baneblades, two Malcadors, three Rhinos, and a Leman Russ."

Luna tilted her head slightly. "You brought _every_ type of heavy vehicle with you... just for a recovery mission?"

"We were reclaiming the Omnissiah," The techpriest droned, "All the forces of the Imperium would have come along had it not been for the Emperor's orders. Even so, we brought along all that we could fit inside the _Wrath_."

"Are these vehicles big?" Brogan questioned.

The Inquisitor smiled, and quipped, "Bigger than yours, boy."

All the grunts and workers, looked at the table, and went about their business, but they all thought the same thing; Creighton subliminally insulted the Captain's manhood. They were fighting words, and a challenge was thrown down.

"_Gentlemen, please._" Adam warned them. "_Now is not the time for petty rivalries or violence. We have bigger things to worry about_."

Faster than you can say "Renegade Interrupt", the doors swung open, and a white unicorn and pissed-off pink alicorn barged in. "Celestia," She barked, glaring at the Princess, "You've got some explaining to do!"

Now, its not usually in Cadence's nature to go all bitchy on everyone. In fact, that's how Twilight managed to discover Chrysalis was pretending to be her. But now, her anger was justifiable, considering 1) She had to abandon her people to Sombra's clutches, 2) her train broke down in the frozen north, and took two days to fix, 3) was in heat, with all the trouble that brings in, and 4) she always hated being left out of the loop.

And if these aliens and machines were anything to go by, Cadence had been left out of the loop for a _very_ long time.

So the betrayed, tired, hormonal Princess walked up to the other goddesses, ignoring the various hulking figures around her, with half-a-mind to beat the crap out of them.

"You've always talked about protecting your subjects," She said, "Of being as loyal to them as they are to you. Yet when I am trying to save my crystal ponies, you order me back to Canterlot to, what, use love magic on all these alien things?"

The humans and aliens gave her sharp looks as she said that. As if simply being a pink pony wasn't enough for them, she had to be having her time of the month too. It just goes to show that even among a friendly race like the ponies, everyone has their share of assholes.

Celestia, sensing this was going down a bad path, opted to change subjects. "Cadence," She said, "I want you meet an old friend of ours." She gestured to the apparition on the other side of the table. "This is Adam, Emperor of Mankind."

The younger alicorn switched her gaze to the holographic image, and the two deities locked eyes.

"_Hello."_

"What are you supposed to be, a ghost?"

"_...That is not...**entirely...**inaccurate. I'm actually-"_

"This is what you brought me down to see?" Cadence complained. "You wanted to show me the pet ghost you want to get rid of? I'm a Love Goddess, not an exorcist!"

"That 'ghost'," Luna snapped, pointing a hoof at the pink pony's face, "Is the reason Sombra failed to conquer Equestria! He is the reason you had an empire to return to!"

"W-What do you mean?" Cadence stammered, taking a step back- Luna's hoof was just inches from her face.

"While the part of the story where my sister and I destroyed Sombra's body is true, it was Adam who used His powers to stop his black magicks, and sent your people into a pocket of the warp. It was at great personal cost for us all that the crystal ponies and the Crystal Heart were saved. So I think it would behoove you show Him a little respect!"

"_Calm yourself, Luna." _The Emperor soothed, walking around the table. _"It is not her fault that she is ignorant of such knowledge. Your sister and I took steps to keep that part of history secret. But to her point, the Crystal Empire is not being abandoned. Its just that our forces are spread thin, at the moment, so an evacuation or fortification are somewhat out of the question. When we obtain the forces to do so, the empire will receive them posthaste."  
"As for you, Mi Amore Cadenza, you and your husband were summoned as a failsafe precaution."_

"And why is that?" Cadence asked.

_"Simple. If something happens to me or your aunts, it is imperative that you are taken to safety. For your love magic is the greatest secret weapon against Chaos. If there is any hope of truly defeating our foes, it may just depend on you."_

Cadence was... speechless, quite frankly. She hadn't expected _that_ to be the reason why she was brought home, but it was _more_ than enough justification for doing so. So, she simply asked, "Alright, where shall we stay?"

"I know the way." The unicorn guard began leading the Princess to her old chambers. But Shining lingered in the HQ, as he had a burning question.

"Adam- was that your name? Luna said that their was a personal cost for you to save the Empire. What was it?"

_"...While I telepathically preformed the ritual to move your city, Luna and Celestia took on Sombra by themselves. He had become a Chaos Sorcerer, and had just enough time to summon a powerful daemon before losing his physical form. This daemon- this abomination of darkness and deceit- led to an atrocity of such magnitude that your world hasn't seen before or since."_

"Which means, what, exactly?" Armor pressed.

"Sombra is the reason there is a Nightmare Moon." Luna explained, sorrow and guilt heavy in her voice. "For your people's salvation, I was given damnation upon the stars..."

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, important stuff.

Midnight Blossom and Cloud Skipper are OCs of Equestria Prevails, a kickass artist on Deviantart. Cloud Kicker's personality (as described here) is from Chengar Quarath, and his fic _Life and Times of a Winning Pony_.

Gundam belong to Bandai. Mechwarrior belongs to the FASA Corporation and Topps. For those of you who don't know, a Gundam is a large personal mecha that can fly and shoot guns- think of a ten-story version of Iron Man. Mechwarriors are very large, slow moving juggernauts loaded with missiles, lasers and guns- like a larger version of the MANTIS, or a really small Titan.

For those of you who are curious, there shall be an alternate version of this chapter over on Fimfiction. Argueably, it should be the funnier one.

And finally, here's a little spoiler for what to expect next month...

"OI, WHO'S DIS UGLY GIT? THINKIN' HE CAN POSE FOR AN ORK 'CAUSE HE'S GREEN! WHO'RE YOU?"

"I am Sierra-117. And I am finishing this fight."


	13. 11: Preparation (part 2)

**A/N:** Its that time of the month again..._Update time!  
_Its the moment you've all been waiting for! The Chief's Awakening, the Ork's Arrival, and the start of the War! Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 8 (part 2)

Resurrection

* * *

_"Comparing the Master Chief to an Astartes is like comparing me to a Guardsman. His skill, speed, intelligence and sheer luck puts him far beyond any Marine. __I dare say that, if we had a thousand of his kind, the Imperium would be free of enemies within a century." -Captain Longinus, Ultramarines_

_"Only the strongest will survive.  
Meet me in heaven, when we die.  
I am the Shadow on the Wall.  
I'll be the one to save us all."  
- "_Blow Me Away", **_Breaking Benjamin_**

* * *

_So the time had finally come. Fortifications were arisen, armies were mobilized and the makeshift armada was all set. Only one thing was left to obtain. **The Ace in the Hole.**_

_Celestia and Luna were really pulling to set Discord free. Adam, however, was not so enthusiastic. Besides the fact that many ponies had negative associations with the Draconequus, the Emperor wanted to keep him in reserve; keeping the big guns safe until a real need arose._

_In truth, there was only **One** individual to summon. The hero of the Haloverse, the Redeemer of Trixie and Gilda. The Iron Casket, The Reclaimer, The Demon. The Greatest Spartan-II in existence._

_John-117._

* * *

_Day 6 of Equestria War_

_Canterlot Vaults_

The recovered contents of the _Forward unto Dawn_ were finally brought up to light, as its guns, vehicles and technology was being distributed among the various Equestrian armies. All the various militaries of this world had arrived two days before; warbands of griffons, entire clans of Diamond Dogs, and even the mighty Horde, a dragon-led mercenary company filled with minotaurs, buffalo, zebras, and the various other scattered races.

There were, however, two distinct items withheld from the joint coalition. In Vault 046, the alicorns gathered up the blue chip and the Chief's petrified container. With a quick pulse of magic, the Princesses teleported themselves and their collected items to the _Road not Taken,_ which was parked over Canterlot. Apparently, all UNSC and CAR ships were made okay for atmospheric entry...

* * *

_1130 hours_

_Docking Bay of **Road not Taken**_

An anxious crowd of spectators, both of crew members and various Alliance soldiers, gathered in the hangar bay, waiting for the arrival of the fabled hero. The equines, Imperials and Spectre team were rather impressed from the stories the troops told them. Saving the galaxy _twice?_ That was a mighty accomplishment, even by Warhammer standards.

And the AI Cortana? She had been debated fiercely among the various members of the Admech. Some simply believed her to be an Abominable Intelligence. Others considered her to be some form of machine spirit, like the AI EDI on Shepard's ship. And some- including the Magos- upon learning of her creation, believed her to be the final form of Machine and Man, a true blessing of the Machine God to all humanity. Either way, everyone in the Mechanicus would eagerly watch her for signs of heresy or "rampancy".

When the alicorns reappeared in the hangar bay, many important figures were there waiting for them. Trixie and Gilda had accompanied the Mane Six, with some desire to thank him for all he did in their lives (even if he was asleep during that time). Cassius and N'tho were there, but kept a distance behind Vasquez. Shepard and most of his team were also present, along with Longinus, Faber, Kriel and their associates.

Everyone was here to see the fallen heroes rise.

Quickly, Celestia gave the Cortana chip to a technician before she joined her sister in "unstoning" the cryo pod. The technician then inserted it into a localized hologram stand, where he tapped into the necessary commands to reactivate the hibernating AI. The techpriests were made to keep their distance, but still gave prayers and chants of binary and High Gothic- no harm in invoking the blessings of the Omnissiah.

Deep inside the realm of cyberspace, programs were being reactivated. Streams of data were pouring in, crucial functions waking up to process it. In the span of a few commands and nanoseconds, Cortana had returned to full operational capacity.

A hologram appeared above the projector, displaying a blue-colored female with short hair and fair... assets. Shepard could hear Jack murmur "Nice rack," as well as various "oohs" and "ahhs" from other troops and ponies. Obviously, the ponies were impressed because holograms are cool, whereas everyone else was... well, impressed by the "hologram". But even Shepard was impressed with Chief's AI, and her rockin' body.

Cortana looked around, and herself momentarily disoriented. She was no longer in the derelict _Dawn,_ but in the hangar of a newer ship. Furthermore, she found herself surrounded by various kinds of unidentified human and alien races,as well as the usual ex-Covenant kind. But, as odd as this was, at least she wasn't lost in space, with Chief still frozen and her slowly going rampant.

"This is Cortana-model AI service number CTN 0452-9." She spoke, surveying the onlookers. "What have I missed?"

"A lot, ma'am." The technician said. He tapped in a few commands on the keyboard, which downloaded all important intel from the last 17 years, as well as what had been recently gathered over the past two weeks planetside. This was all processed within three seconds.

"Hmm. I guess you guys have been busy while we took our little nap." She turned to Trixie and Gilda. "Speaking of which, I believe I owe you two thanks for salvaging him, and not tossing me in a garbage bin."

The griffon and unicorn bowed. "It was nothing." Trixie said humbly. "Really, you should thank the Princesses for safekeeping you and the Spartan. They were the ones who turned the pod into stone."

"Good thing, too. After you disconnected him, the pod has only 24 hours before it shuts down. Hopefully, your 'petrification' spells- huh, that sounds weird just _saying_ it- worked, and John should be in fighting shape in no time."

When the the alicorns finished their spell reversal, technicians and mechanics quickly reconnected the pod to a life-monitoring system. All signs read normal, and it appeared as if they were set to wake him up.

"Little bit of advice for the non-humans in the room," Cortana warned, "You may want to step back a bit. Last time an alien came up to Chief after he took a nap, he put a gun in the Arbiter's face."

"Oh, we remember that." Vasquez told her, leaning on a Ghost casually. "The video footage of that, and everythin' else that yuh did back then, have been shown in every classrom and barracks in civilized space. And yes, everyone here has there guns unloaded and safeties on."

"Isn't that a bit redundant?"

"Maybe. But do yuh want to risk him goin' crazy and shootin' someone?"

"It woudn't really matter. He could kill most of you with his bare hands anyway."

Alan shut up after that. There was only so much they could prepare for. The only thing left now was to wake him up, and hope he didn't get damaged...

* * *

_For the first time in a long time, John was dreaming._

_He found himself standing in a vast wasteland, the bodies of humans, aliens and flood stretching out as far as the eye could see. The armor he wore was so drenched in blood that it was no longer green, but a macabre mixture of blue and red and orange. The Spartan wasn't one to let such a site get to him, but he could sense that there was something very wrong with this place._

_Looking up, he found himself looking upon a massive mountain rising from a lake of blood. This mountain, he could see, was actually made of various types of skulls- many of them human, but many more belonging to all kinds of alien bodies, most of them unrecognizable to him. On top of this mountain was a monstrous multi-limbed creature. Its image eluded him somehow, instead taking the forms of the enemies he had fought in his life- Insurrectionists, Elites, Brutes, The Prophet of Regret, even the Gravemind itself._

_The monstrous creature gazed down upon the Chief, and smiled. It spoke to him- not through words, but through images and impressions. This entity- which called itself "Khorne"- had observed his long career, and was impressed. It was very rare that he came across a warrior of such caliber and skill. _

_Khorne tried to entice the Spartan. He gave promises of great power, enough to bring down even the mightiest of foes. The aliens would be humbled, the Flood extinguished, and all humanity would bow before him as the ultimate fighter. All he needed to do was swear his allegiance to the blood god, and the galaxy would be his._

_John countered by saying he didn't fight for personal gain. He had only ever fought for others- For humanity, for the UNSC, for his fellow Spartans, for Cortana. He would never sell himself to a freak calling itself God, and he would never betray everything he held dear to him._

_The blood god laughed. His bravery was admirable, but his arrogance would soon be eliminated. Upon Khorne drawing his sword, hundreds of gigantic red daemons were summoned, and quickly charged. Chief drew his gun, and calculated how best to escape-_

_Suddenly, three tremendous bright lights broke into the gloom, blinding the false deity and burning his daemons. John looked up, and gazed upon the figures coming to his rescue. Above the wasteland, two winged unicorns- one light, one dark, both in armor- strode in side-by-side with a giant in golden power armor, swords raised high and lightning streaking from them._

_"**John,"** A voice rang out, ringing with power and righteousness, "**Awaken from this dream. The lands of the living has need of you once more. Upon your duty to humanity and her allies, we summon you. We beg you... Chief, wake up!"**_

* * *

_"Chief, wake up! I need you!"_

The Master Chief opened his eyes for the first time in years. In front of him, Cortana was floating above her pedestal, and the cryo room... wasn't the cryo room anymore.

"Cortana," He spoke, his voice hoarse from non-use, "Where are we?"

"We're onboard the _Road not Taken."_ She explained. "The UNSC sent a couple of ships to reclaim us. And when they did, there were some... 'developments'."

"What kind of developments?" He pressed as he opened the manual locks on the pod. "Covenant show up again? Or is the Flood here?"

"Actually, its neither of those. Quite frankly, its so out of left field that I've yet to form an opinion on it."

The pod door opened, and the supersoldier climbed out. "What, exactly?" The AI pointed behind him, and upon turning, Chief saw a menagerie of humans, aliens, supersoliders and... Whatever the hell those equines were. The Spartan tensed up, immeadiately preparing himself for whatever the aliens had in store for him.

One of the UNSC officers stepped forward. "Chief," He said, "I'm Captain Mark Brogan, commander of this vessel. I know this all may be a bit confusing, but-"

"How long was I out?" John asked, getting straight to the point.

"Its been 18 years for us," He explained, "But for you locally, its been three."  
"And how long have we been working with these guys?"  
"With the Covenant, since about two years after you went asleep. With everyone else, about a week. Kind of a 'marriage of convienience', to be honest."

The Spartan relaxed, and looked at all the other faces in the crowd. They were appraising him, just as much as he was appraising them. Some- like the equines and the civvie-looking types- didn't look all that skilled. Others- like the cyborgs or the giants- looked more battle-hardned than anyone outside a fellow Spartan. Speaking of which...

"How are the Spartans holding up?" Cortana brought up, practically reading his mind (hell, she spent most of her life _inside_ his head).

Everyone in the room looked at the people of Halo. Appearently, in the past few weeks they had been on Equestria, no one had ever mentioned that there were Spartan _programs_, or that 117 wasn't the only one around.

"There's more people like him?" Rainbow Dash quipped, having been silent along with everypony else.  
"Yes."  
"How many?"  
"Officially, about a dozen IIs and IIIs, a lot of IVs."  
"And _unofficially?"_  
"Unofficially, its none of your buisness."

Dash growled, but remained silent. Good thing, too, as Brogan wasn't sure if he was allowed to reveal the Spartan IV project, let alone Project S-V. After all, the biggest reason brass allowed this mission to begin with was so that ONI could find some way to contribute to the new project.

Turning back to Sierra-117, Brogan explained, "Of the IIs, Fred, Kelly and Linda are still alive. Scientists speculate that Jorge may still live, but nothing has been recovered yet. Of the IIIs, Admiral Jun and Agent 'N-6' are the only ones that are common knowledge."

Chief nodded, somewhat grateful for that knowledge. He had feared for some time that he was the last remaining Spartan in existance, especially after the Battle of the Arc. Knowing that his brothers and sisters-in-arms were still alive gave him a little bit of peace. But since they chose to wake him _now,_ rather than back on Reach or Earth, indicated that they needed him for a mission.

"What's the situation then?" He pressed. "You wouldn't have woken me if you didn't need me."

"Right. And, as fate would have it-"

The Captain was inturrupted by the wail of sirens. "_Alert,_" The announcement warned, "_Multiple e__nergy spikes detected. Energy fluctuations recognized as 'Warp exits', reporting 763 events and counting."_

Kriel, who was communicating with Captain Lema and psyker Guitierra, gave a metallic sigh. "Well," He reported, "It appears that the war has begun."

"What is it?" Shepard asked. "Chaos?"  
"Not that bad."  
"Flood?"  
"...Think greener."

* * *

The Ruinous Powers, for all their devious natures, are beyond clever. Tzeentch, through his own abilities and the visions of the great Kairos Fateweaver, detected the presence of the other worlds, and their respective invaders. The Flood was dangerous, and the Reapers already had a massive army before them.

But neither of them were trickster gods like the Changer of Ways.

If the Chaotic Champions were to succeed in their mission, the "coalition" would have to be distracted and weakened beforehand. While the others certainly fit the bill, Tzeentch wasn't one to hedge bets. He knew just the appropriate distraction.

A race that thrived on war. A race that loved to fight and put boots to asses. A race that, according to one ODST, "...are like a case of herpes; they're irritating as shit, and never go away."

Truly, no one expects the Orks.

* * *

_In Space  
Between the Sun, Moon and Mass Relay_

The Ork WAAAGGH! fleet came out of the warp as they always do- eager to kill something. It was a massive fleet, easily in the tens of thousands. Many of its soldiers could proudly claim a lineage going back to the original orks of the Armageddon wars, and were some of the toughest in existence. And they were led by who would later be considered the "Orkiest Ork who ever krumpd a humie".

Warbozz CurbStompa.

Staring out the view-screen, Curbstomp gazed menacingly upon the tiny world, with its strange sun and moon and big 'ole gun (_Needs moar dakka,_ He thought).

"Hey boss," A gretchin reported, "Dere's some strange stuff on dat planet."

"Wot kind o' stuff, git?" The Warbozz demanded, cleaning his favorite sword. Slice n' Dice, as he called it, was a Hyperphase blade pried off the cold dead hands of a Necron Overlord, dispatching it after a three-day fight. It represented all his might as a Warbozz, and had taken many lives in his life.

"We's got a humie ship," The gretchin reported nervously, "But we also gotz tre' o'ter ships there too. And the star and moon, dey's goin' 'round da planet."

"Who cares 'bout dat?" The Bozz snapped, pointing his sword at the baby ork. "What's dis ye said 'bout strange ships?"  
"I says what I meant, boss. Dere's humies, spacey marines, an' mo' 'unknown' races than we can shake a sword at."  
"Oi, you watch yer tone! I can shake me sword at whoever I want!"

CurbStompa looked at the scanning reports, the most advanced piece of tech Orks have on their ships. In orbit, there were four ships; one was Imperial, the others were smaller and different. Planetside, there were humans, astartes, and a dozen or so races the Ork had never seen before. It made him think- as well as an ork _can _think.

"Oi," He declared, "By Gork and Mork, dees' blightas 'ave nevah been seen by Ork eyes! Do ye kno' wot 'dis means?"  
"No, boss."  
"It means that dees' po' gits ain't nevah had a propah krumpin', dat's wot. Dem blighters need ta git demselves an edacatin' in fightin', and we Orks are jus' the ones da do it!"

He grabbed a conveniently placed microphone, and declared to the entire fleet, "Oi, we're in luck, boyz! Down there's a planet full o' whiny gits just _beggin' _fo' a propah krumpin'! And wez jus' the onz ta do it! Why? 'Cause wez da Orkz, an' its wot we do!  
_WAAAAAAAAGH!"_

The roar of "_WAAAAAAAAGH!"_ rang proudly throughout the makeshift fleet, and meteors and dropships rained down upon the alien planet. The Green Tide had just arrived.

* * *

_Appleoosa, Equestria  
__Forward Base Bingo_

In the San Palomino Desert, most of the Alliance's heavy machinery was spread around the many rapidly established FOBs, manufactured curtesy of the _Road _and _Judgement. _The UNSC-CAR forces were augmented by the Imperial Fists, Guardsmen and a commandery of Adepta Sororitas (though they were Order Hospitaller, serving as medics). Some troops were even training the local ponies and buffalo tribes in modern combat, creating militias.

Often times, however, since there was no immediate fighting going on, all groups involved could just get together and shoot the breeze, as was demonstrated here. Towards the edge of the base, two ponies, a dragon and an ODST were talking next to a Pelican.

"Ay, have you guys heard about Daring Do?" One pony- a blue crystal unicorn pony, no less- asked the group, his red cape blowing in the wind. "Word is that Celestia commisioned her and her posse to head north and get the Crystal Heart before things pick up. She's got a whole team of mercs with her, even a diamond dog with magic claws!"

"Are you sure about that, Mixer?" Another unicorn- a dark red one named Burning Heart- countered. "I mean, Daring isn't racist or anything, but you'd think she wouldn't have a dog come along. They aren't very smart, and rather hard to get along with."

"Diamond Dogs aren't bad." Heart's dragoness assistant, Spines, snapped. "My parents came from the City of Fortitude. That place had dragons, diamond dogs, griffons- every nonpony race outside of Equestria. My father told me that the dogs there were the most well-behaved and loyal creatures he ever met. If Do actually _does_ have one of them with her, she'll be in luck."

"Hold on a sec," Lt. Connor, the ODST, interrupted. "What's so important about the 'Crystal Heart'? What does it do?"

"Its a device," Mixer explained, "That's powered by the love and happiness of the crystal ponies, which then spreads it across Equestria, and keeps evil at bay. And having spoken with the Imperials, they have shown _great _interest in it. Considering the dangers of what we'll be going against, I'm not surprised."  
"Yeah, but I don't think you should believe everything they tell you. I mean, their galaxy can't be _that_ horrible, right?"

"Hey," Heart pointed to the sky, "Is that a meteor shower?"

Everyone looked up, and was dumbfounded. Above them, dozens of fiery streaks were racing across the sky, coming down from a flotilla of tinker-toy looking spasceships. A massive fleet, that practically blocked out ths sun.

"Huh, look at that." Connor pulled out his SMG. "Remember this day, folks. War has come to town."

The meteors- which they could see were the size of the modern drop pods- crashed all over the desert, impacting mesas and ravines, smashing apple orchards and bases. One such rock smashed 500 yards away from them, making a small crater.

"Quick, get your weapons!" The unicorns pulled out DMRs (Equestrians were all given basic weapons training), while Spines drew a Covenant Carbine, and all of them aimed at the meteor. On the radio, the UNSC and CAR troops were confused, not knowing the nature of the attack. But on Imperial channels, one warning rang loud and proud:

"_Emperor help us, its the Orks!"_

From the meteor, dozens of giant, green monsters came rushing out of the crater, wearing little to no armor, armed with everything from guns to robot arms to even swords and axes. Their eyes and faces were permanently set into one of bloodlust.

"**_WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"_** A mindbending roar rang out, causing ears to bleed and communications to shut down. All across the desert, the greenskins charged, shooting randomly, slashing randomly, going into a war-orgy as only the Orks can.

Over at the Pelican, the ponies and dragon shot at the horde, aiming for the heads (as they were "trained" to do) while Connor got behind the shuttle's turret gun, and let loose. Training was decent, to say the least- but there's only so much you can do in five days. So, while they aimed for eyes and faces, they often hit the shoulders and chest, or hit the Ork behind them. The machine gun did a number on them, but it took a lot of rounds to bring down even a couple. Plus, they were shooting back, covering for their bretheren with swords.

They had to get out of there, ASAP.

"Spines!" The human called out. "Take the turret!" The dragoness jumped to the gun, and Connor ran back to the cockpit, starting up the engine. Every ODST, like every Spartan-IV, was trained to operate every vehicle in use today, even the mighty Elephant and Mammoth. Good thing, too, as the horde was almost on top of them.

As the "pilot" turned on all the final switches, a stray bolter round went into the craft. It struck the ceiling, causing a panel to fall off and strike Mixer in the head. He could hardly get out a "dammit" before he fell unconsciously to the floor.

"Bastards!" Burning Heart shouted, using his pyromancy to summon a fireball, and launched it at the horde. Surprisingly, it kinda worked, as some of the Orks _did_ catch on fire, and began firing randomly from the pain.

The engines roared, the Pelican lifted off the ground, and the Orks got roasted on afterburners as they took off. Spines shot out a few parting rounds as Heart checked upon the unconscious crystal pony. Connor was picking up distress signals and reports from all over the continent- Appleoosa, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, even Neighagra Falls up north. These "Orks", as the Imperials were calling them, had brought in an invasion fleet well before any other contenders.

"He'll be fine," Heart announced, wrapping Mixer's cape around him like a blanket, "He a small cut, a concussion maybe. He can be treated when we reach Alpha Base."

Spines giggled to herself. She felt positively giddy after firing the heavy machine gun for the first time. Dragons- especially female dragons- _love_ heavy firepower. "It looked like blasting and roasting them did the trick." She gloated. "If somepony could make flaming bolter rounds, I think we'd be set."  
"I don't get it. They just rushed at us, ready to kill. No introductions, no announcements, no attempts to talk. Just straight up rush'n slash. What type of creature does that?"  
"Don't worry about it, Heart. I'm sure the humans have some fancy weapon or device to stop them."

"We got one better, jack!" Connor declared from the cockpit. "I'm getting word over secure channels- it was all over the airwaves before the invasion started. Sierra-117 is awake, and he's getting deployed!"

"The 'Galactic Savior'?" Spines asked. "Huh. If even half of what you guys told me about him is true, those green guys will be crying for their mamma in no time."

"Let's just hope it works." Heart murmured, watching the desert below become a battlefield. Now, for better or worse, the Great Equestria War was on...

* * *

**A/N 2: **Copyright time. Connor the ODST belongs to Ice Assassin Ace. Mixer belongs Mixer over on Fim fiction .net. Burning Heart and Spines belong to Lankore.

Next update: The Battle of Appleoosa, starring Master Chief, Cmdr. Shepard, most of the Mane Six, and the armies of the Coalition against an Ork WAAAAGH!

As the saying goes, "Its on like Donkey Kong, jack!"


	14. 12: Perparations (part 3)

**A/N: **This is the longest chapter that I've done in awhile (over 8'000 words), and its the first time I've ever had to write out an action scene. But rest assured, its finally here.

Chapter 8 (part three)

Battle of Appleoosa

* * *

_"This wasn't the first time Appleoosa has been in a fight. But this was the first time we've been in a war. And these 'Orks'... What can be said about them? The buffalo fought for their homeland, and we ponies fought to save our livelihood. Them? Orks kill for **fun**. If there was an excuse to use the Halo Array on anyone, its them."  
__- Chief Braeburn, Leader of the Remnant Buffalo Tribes and Governor of New Appleoosa_

_"No regret for the confidence betrayed.  
No more hiding in shadow.  
'Cause I won't wait for the debt to be repaid.  
Time has come for you."  
__- "Victimized", **Linkin Park**_

* * *

_The Ork's assault was quick and brutal- typical of their style. While the Coalition had been preparing for a fight, the majority of the land forces were still stationed in Canterlot, and thus had to scramble. By the time both the army and the navy could be brought to bear, the greenskins had already had ground near Appleoosa, Fillydelphia, and even inside Manehattan. _

_The four ships were deployed, and it's because of them that Equestria withstood the first few weeks. The **Wrath**, being the most powerful ship, was both the biggest attacker and biggest target. Any Ork craft not dedicated to landing troops on the surface was either trying to blow it up or board it. With most of its complement of troops down below, broadside after broadside were shot, decimating the fleet._

_The **Taken **and the **Judgement,** being the largest ships the Orks had never fought, were also big targets. But unlike the Imperials, the taskforce had a few tricks up their sleeves. MAC rounds, plasma shots, Shiva missiles, they all went through the ships like a sword through an arm. And when all else failed, they could always go really fast and break the ships in half- The Orks were very impressed by that one._

_No Orks gave a crap about the **Normandy,** as it was clearly "A SHIP FO' WEAK BLIGHTAS!" And that was what kept them alive. Their missiles and lasers couldn't do anything, EDI was useless as Orks don't use computers (even during the fight, no one could believe that Ork-tech worked based on their thoughts), and if an Ork ship locked on to them, the ship would explode. The only thing they had going for them was the Thanix Cannon, which in the first week chalked up 385 kills.  
Whenever a ship was blown up, CurbStompa would always say, "THOSE ORKS WERE GITS, ANYWAY. AH DON' WANT THAT SHIP, AH WANT THE GREEN ONE!"_

_Even with the outstanding job by the fleet, tens of thousands of Orks had made it planetside, and had established the San Palomino Desert as their domain. And it was the job of the Allied Armed Forces to root them out, and send them back to Hell.  
The Battle of Appleoosa is historically remembered for three things; The first **actual** battle of the war,the first deployment of the Battlemechs and GUNDAMS, and the return of the Master Chief..._

* * *

_+Day 4 of Invasion  
6:30 A.M.  
20 miles north of Appleoosa_

The Kodiak was five minutes out from Forward Base Alpha, the only station still secure following the landings. It was escorted by two Pelicans, three Banshees, and an honest-to-Emperor Thunderbolt. Onboard were some of the most important members of the new alliance; all of Shepard's team (minus Legion and Miranda, who were fighting in Manehattan), Capt. Cassius, Srgt. Longinus, all the Element-Bearers (besides Rarity- as she was a seamstress/diplomat with no combat experience, she had nothing to give by going south), Trixie and Gilda, and of course, Sierra-117.

There wasn't much in the way of conversation on the way there.

"So," Shepard started, trying to lighten the atmosphere, "I hear that you made your way through a heavily infested Flood station?"

"Yeah." Chief responded curtly. "_High Charity_. Did it twice."

"Then you shouldn't have any problem fighting these Orks, then?"

"_Doubt it."_ Cortana quipped over the radio. "_Big green monsters, always angry, all the time? Ha. The only difference between them and the Berserker Brutes is that its temporary for the apes... no offense, Cassius."_

The Jiralhanae merely shrugged. Mild racism aside, it was still an honor to serve alongside the hero. N'tho and Vasquez were already groundside, and was joining Longinus as "Fluttershy's bodyguards". While reluctant to go fight, her medical knowledge and animal communication would be _some_ benefit.

Gilda and Trixie were adjusting and loading up their MA5B and Avenger machine guns, respectively. G had helped RD learn to shoot the M45 Shotgun, as Trixie had done with Twilight and the M-97 Viper. AJ, on the other hoof, had one of the first-ever saddle-mounted dual Bolters, and was in retro-fitted Cerberus armor. And Fluttershy... well, with a Brute and a Space Marine having her back, a ponified- marine armor and a hoof-mounted energy blade would be all she needed.

That just left Pinkie with a rather... unorthodox weapon.

"Just _who's_ idea was it to give her a chainsword?" Garrus griped, staring concernedly at the party pony and her 4-foot long whirring blade of death. 21st century Earth provided all kinds of legends that followed humanity to the Extranet. Slenderman, Cthulhu, the SCP Foundation- they were but a few, and none were particularly scary, since everyone knew their fakeness. One such creepypasta, however, had troubled the Turian's mind- and to a lesser extent, the _Normandy's-_ ever since this place was confirmed. This story, while not as nasty as _Rainbow Factory, Cheerliee's Garden _ or _Sweet Apple Massacre_, lasted far longer for its originality and its infamy. If anyone had ever come across the "blasphemous tome" that is _Cupcakes_, they would know perfectly well why Pinkie Pie and a chainsaw-knife were a bad idea.

"Whatcha worried about, Garry?" Pinkie chirped happily. "I can use this sword just fine. Besides, I've used a chainsaw before."

The alien's eyes bugged out, and his mandibles flexed outward in surprise. "You have?" He asked, a twinge of fear growing inside. "When?"  
"A few months ago. Some timberwolves had entered town during Zap Apple Season, sniffing around for foals to eat. With Pound and Pumpkin Cake still acting all rambunctious, I joined Big Mac and a few other townsponies in some hunting. Took out three myself."  
"Oh. Right. Of course."  
"What? What did you think it was?"  
"Umm... I'll have to tell you later."

"We are approaching the drop zone." The pilot announced. "Prepare to disembark."

The sidedoor opened up, and music started playing from the radio. It started as Gregorian chanting, but then progressed into drum beats and strings- an epic song, if ever there was one.

"What's this?" Longinus inquired. "A war tune your people play?"

"In a manner of speaking." Cassius answered. "A few years back, some guys made a docu-drama flic about you, Chief. The movie itself was okay, but it had some of the best music ever written, and its on the playlist of every soldier in Human-CAR space. This one is called _Installation 04._"

"They made a movie about me?" Chief pondered.  
"_Yep,"_ Cortana quipped, "_And the way people talk about you on the chatlines, you might as well be a cross between Hercules and Jesus."_

The Kodiak made its landing, and its escorts took off to make another run. The passengers got off, squeezing their way through the tiny doorway. Outside, Forward Base Alpha was abuzz with activity, as Scorpions and Wraiths were led by Stormlords and Stormswords, veritable swarms of Warthogs and Ghosts followed the Baneblades, and Sanghelli and humans marched alongside ponies and Astartes.

Standing in the middle of this controlled chaos was Celestia, wearing the golden armor from the night of the Meeting. She also had a warhammer the size of a Mongoose on one side, and a Spartan Laser on the other, both levitated by her magic. Her face was hard and stern, though it softened upon seeing her student and her comrades.

"What're you doing here, Princess?" Shepard asked, bearing a Revenant assault gun and Terminus Armor. "Shouldn't you be back in Canterlot with the rest of Command?"

"Cadence is currently managing governmental and military affairs at HQ," The sun goddess explained, "And Luna is with Adam, saying she wanted to discuss some things with Him alone. As for me, my parents taught me that a true leader isn't afraid to fight alongside her troops in battle. And this day, many an Ork shall know the wrath of _Star Slayer._" The Astartes and Brute nodded in agreement. In both their cultures, Chapter Masters and Chieftains were involved in the actual battle, rather than staying behind and giving orders from base.

"Where do you need us?" Chief asked, scanning the battlefield at the horizon. Reports had come in that Appleoosa itself- which was much bigger than it was 2 years before- had been taken by the aliens, and its ruins had been heavily fortified. Fillydelphia and Manehattan were also under the same occupation, but their urban environments meant that those battlefields would be fought by infantry. Here, cars, tanks and planes were the way to go.

"Follow me." The princess gestured, and the group followed her to the front. All around, troops and civilians all looked and pointed at them. Here was Shepard's force, the Master Chief himself, the Elements of Harmony and their entourage, all following the goddess of Equestria into battle. Fluttershy peeled off the group to work in the triage center- she knew as well as anypony else that her place was not on the battlefield. Tali went over to the garage- she could fight, but she also wanted to better understand these other races' machinery. All others, though, reach edge of the base, where the majority of soldiers were waiting for the order to attack.

The assaulting force was a snapshot of the newly formed Alliance. There were griffons with Lasguns and marines with power-swords. Their were Guardsmen being taught how to use plasma turrets by Elites, and Grunts being given automatic crossbows from unicorns. Dragons, Diamond Dogs and Zebras stood side by side with Hunters and Drones and Skitarii. Soldiers of a multiverse stood ready to take on one of the greatest threats in existence.

And every one of them cheered as their greatest heroes and leaders joined the frontline.

The Mane Five and their escorts stood nervously among the rest of the group. Despite the events of the Wedding, only Gilda and Trixie had any combat training. They hadn't been in a serious fight before, let alone killed a living being. The thought of killing now was very disturbing. They were only able to bring themselves here for two reasons; 1) They needed to fight to save their world, and 2) The Imperials were _very _repetitive on the fact that Orks were not an intelligent race, but rather an invasive bio-weapon that destroyed everything (like parasprites, only louder).

Celestia gestured to Shepard, who stepped closer to her. "I must take flight," She told him, "And speak to my pegasi and dragon troops. I hear that you are quite an expert in speechcraft. Perhaps you can help us by giving one now?"

"I'll do my best, Princess." He answered. The alicorn leapt up into the air, flying in front of a large formation of airborne troops, leaving the Commander with everyone else.

Shepard turned to face the army before him. He had made a lot of speeches in his day, but this would certainly be the most important... so far. As such, he took a moment to gather himself before he could begin.

"Today," He began, "I stand before an army of people I'd never imagine ever seeing, let alone fighting with. Sanghelli and Jiralhanae, Astartes and Guardsmen, ponies and buffalo. Under any other circumstance, this would be a recipe for disaster, an exercise in betrayal and futility."

_"But not this day."_

"At any other time, each and every one of us would be at each other's throats, fighting over perceived wrongs and needless semantics."

_"But not this day."_

He pointed to the Ork Horde. "In front of us, a mindless enemy who only seeks death and bloodshed, who will not listen to reason or be open to peace. They are capable of neither pity nor mercy, and whose sole reason for existing is to slaughter and annihilate."

He then pointed to Appleoosa. "Behind and beyond us, an entire world of peaceful races who have welcomed us, treated us as friends, who fight side by side with us even now. These people, who have done nothing to deserve this save healing a god, and who want nothing more than to live in harmony with all things."

"To some of you, this is your thousandth fight against a common foe. To others, this is your first time in an actual fight. Whether you're a veteran or a rookie, whether your standing sure or in fear, remember this: You do not stand alone, for we are all brothers and sisters today, and we shall know no fear!"

"Before we do what must be done, I will leave you with this. These ugly green bastards think they can take this world from us." There are disapproving growls from various soldiers along the lines. He continued, his voice now taking a darker tone. "To which I say... Let them try!" The army cheered, defiant against the green tide.

_"Onward, to Victory!"_

Likewise, Celestia was giving a speech of her own. The soldiers before her were not the typical Guard that ponies saw on a daily basis. No, they were the elite of the elite, taught and trained in the same methods that Guardsmen were. The Emperor, through the actions of the Princesses, created this unit to be as close to an actual PDF as Equestria could pull off. Some of them were given guns from the _Dawn,_ while others used the magic-based shooters that the ponies had created on their own. But most simply used barded melee weapons, holy hand grenades and crossbows- weapons they had trained with their entire lives. These weapons were specifically made to be on-par with that of the Imperium, able to break through any armor and slay any creature. They were the ponies' answer to the darkness of the far future.

"This day," She began, her voice echoing through all available radio channels and to all warriors in the sky, "We fight an abomination, an insult upon all living things."

_"Through the Wisdom of His Divine Majesty and Holy Diarchs, We Fight." _The Royal Guard chanted.

"They came uninvited from the stars, their sole purpose in existence being to kill and destroy. Our majestic cities, our peaceful villages- stallions, mares, foals- all are fair game to this infestation."

_"With the Strength of the Spartans and the Astartes, We Fight."_

"We stand alongside the greatest fighters in all existence. Spartans and Astartes, Guardsmen and ODSTs. They have fought the likes of our opponents a thousand times over, spilling their blood to keep us safe."

_"With the Courage of the Guardsmen and the ODSTs and the Spectres, We Fight."_

"Today, we stand with these men and women, fellow warriors. We do our part to make the multiverse a better place for all."

_"With the Friendship of Ponies and Man and the Xenos of all worlds, We Fight."_

"We shall join our blades with their guns, our magic with their machines. We shall make the earth quake, and the storms thunder. The sun and stars themselves shall unleash their fury upon them."

_"Against The Undead, The Soulless, The Fallen, We Fight."_

"Though many of us shall fall saving our home, our sacrifice shall not be in vain. For each one of us that dies, we shall take a thousand of them with us!"

_"Into the Eternal Void, We Cry, 'We may get Beaten, but We shall not Bow!'"_

"So fight on, my subjects, my people. Send these bastards back to the blasphemous hell that they came from!"

_"FOR THE EMPEROR! FOR EQUESTRIA! FOR EARTH AND THE MULTIVERSE! TO VICTORY!"_

Together, the cheers of the two combined armies made a roar of such magnitude that it carried miles and miles away, all the way over to the Ork horde. They were, needless to say, not very impressed.

"OI, WOT'S DIS?" A Nob shouted to his troops, glaring across the fields. "DOSE PUNY HUMIES AN' 'ONYS DINK DEY'S A MATCH FO' DA ORKS! BOYZ, IT BE TIME WE GIVEZ DOSE GITS A GOOD KRUMPIN'! _WAAAAAGH!"_

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!" The Orks bellowed, charging at the army as a verdant tide of death. Orks are very simple creatures, you see. They only have two modes of fighting, as it is written by Gork and Mork: Hit hard when the enemy isn't looking, and hit harder when they are. That is, they only knew ambushing and Zerg Rushing. And since the town was surrounded, by both land and sky, that left mad charges.

And that's exactly what the Alliance was counting on with Operation Raining Hellfire.

As the WAAAAGH! was filling the desert between their foothold and the Allied lands, up in space, The _Road _and the _Judgement_ aimed a few of their broadside cannons at the big green dot. Plasma was channeled, slugs were loaded, coördinates were punched in.  
_"MAC... Away."  
_"_Plasma Cannon... Engaged."_

**WHAATOOM! WHATOOM-WHATOOM!  
WVVVERRRRRRRRRRR!**

The allies ducked for cover, as MAC rounds and boiling plasma rained down upon the Orks. Hundreds of greenskins were blown up and burned alive, whether out in the open or in the mild protection of Kroozaz and Speedaz. In some places, the plasma collected at the bottom of the craters, burning them as they unwittingly charged and fell into the pits. In other places, the plasma fell down hills, rolling down and melting the aliens like a pyroclastic flow.

It was a start, but only got a few thousand over a square mile, out of a force of 500K spread over 5 miles. The Horde kept coming, which was why there was Phase Two.

Behind the army, dozens upon dozens of Longswords, Thunderhawks and new-model Phantoms called "Apparitions" came racing in. They raced above the freshly-crafted wasteland, dropping their payloads of hundreds of bombs made of promethium, plasma and high-explosive munitions. The soldiers covered their ears, as a cacophonous roar thundered across the green and red stained desert. More than half again of the Orks were torn apart or atomized from the explosions, their warbikes and buggies burning just as much as the Grot tanks and Kill Krushaz.

At this point, any normal thinking creature would stop charging and run away in defeat. But Orks don't know the meaning of the word, and pressed on even as half of their army was dead. Which meant it was time for Phase Three, the _Coup de Grace._

Celestia flew higher into the air, forehooves outstretched, her warhammer floating below her. The sun's light glowed more intensely, making the daylight brighter, forcing everyone to squint. As the sun itself charged up, Celestia closed her eyes, and recited a saying her mother had told her as a filly- something between a spell, a prayer and lullaby;

_Give me the strength of the Rising Sun.  
Give me the truth of the words I've sung.  
And when the last bells ring, the poor mares sing,  
"Bring me to Kingdom Come."_

When she opened her eyes again, they were as bright as the sun itself. The brightness of the sun dimmed, as the excess light focused down into a beam, striking the tip of her horn. The beam was then redirected from the horn, blasting outward onto the still approaching horde. The beam was as thin as a scalpel, but had enough intensity to make metal melt and flesh burn. Orks caught in the crossfire were simultaneously bisected and set aflame, and many a vehicle exploded like popcorn. She carved a twelve-pointed star onto the field below her, the ground hit by the beam burning into glass, forming a shape over 4 miles across.

The Orks... stopped. Those puny humies and "punnies" had used massive space-cannons, a massive aerial bombardment, and the power of the sun itself to shrink down their force from half a million down to 10'000, against a force that was 8'000 at the most. It was a demonstration of firepower of such magnitude that greenskins could only fantasize about. In the end, one Gretchin summed up the event perfectly;

"_Dat's a lot o' DAKKA!"_

Celestia cried out in a voice of a Valkyrie, "_Ave Equestria!_", and dove into the remnants of Orks, unleashing her righteous fury upon them, alternating between blasting them with her horn, smashing their skulls with _Star Slayer,_ and destroying tanks with the Spartan Laser.

But goddess or not, the soldiers of mankind were _not _going to be shown up by a mamby-pamby pony princess. With a sound of fury, the army- human, Astartes, Ex-Covenant and Equestrian- unloaded their guns and arrows upon the Orks, giving covering fire as the Marines and melee troops charged at the stunned rabble...

X)(X)(X

Far off, the machines rumbled to life. Smoke billowed out of smokestacks, engines roared, and red eyes glowed with malice and rage. On one arm, a massive chainsaw the size of a tank whirred up. On another, a Soopagun activated, massive amounts of energy coursed through the gun. The four-story tall machines lifted a foot, taking a step upon a pony's farm, crushing it underfoot. The machine blared a horn of unrepentant warlust. The others matched it with their own, an echo of twenty blasts.

The Gargants were coming to play.

X)(X)(X

"RD, watch it!"

"I see 'em, G!"

_BOOM! CH-CHINK! BAM! Buddaddadda!_

"Nice shot, Dash."

_"That was me, featherbrain."_

Garrus kept an eye on the two Wonderbolts through his scope, popping a round into any Ork's face that got too close to them. Staying thirty yards behind, he used the Mantis as weapon of choice, already scoring sixty kills. Gilda and Dash weren't doing too bad themselves, having left a trail of headless greenskins behind them. It also meant that the turian would end up spending a bunch of time unintentionally looking at griffon and pegasus buttocks, wrapped up in skin-tight armor. Garrus wasn't the type of guy to stare at behinds while working- military training, for one, and constant assignments with Shepard's girls, for another but he was certainly trained and experienced enough to _multitask_.

Both of them were quite muscular, no doubt. Any race on this race that didn't always use magic -whether they tilled the ground or worked the sky- was naturally toned and fit. Gilda was of course bigger, and had more to go around, as they say. But with Rainbow, there was something about that flank-

_"I could watch dat ass all day_."

"Whatcha say, Gar?" She asked.

It was then that he realized that he said that particular thought aloud. "_Uh_," He stammered, trying to think of a cover, "_Watch your asses, there's a Nob behind you!"_

Indeed, a rather large Ork with robot chainsaw arms had come charging at them, and was quickly filled with lead. Garrus was momentarily embarrassed that a stray thought like that slipped out, and hoped neither of them picked up what he really said. The thing was, they did. Gilda immediately felt a bit pissed, jealous that this strange-looking, "fourth wall aware" alien would want to muscle in on her girl. Dash, however, had already felt a bit attracted to the turian brony, and wondered whether or not he'd be okay with making a herd along with Gilda...

X)(X)(X

High above the field, pilots loaded into their machines. 2 of the mighty _Fafnirs _had been deployed alongside the scarabs and Seraphim in Manehattan, the remaining three were reserved for just this moment. These machines of war had been given 3 of the most powerful lasers now available, as well as a pair of massive Gauss guns, capable of blasting into mountains.

The commander of the squad turned on the engine to his mech, and listened to the roar. "Roll call," He announced. "Heimdall Actual, standing by."  
"Heimdall-2, standing by."  
"Heimdal-5, standing by."

"_All systems ready." _Juno announced over the speakers. "_Prepare for Orbital Drop."_

"Remember, boys." The commander turned on his weapons and shielding. " With most of the Imperial Reavers up in Manehattan, our own AGE Gundam. Our targets will be Ork mechs, designation "GARGANTUANS". Intel says there are twenty Omegas in Sector Alpha-457. Aim weapons at the legs and center of mass."

"_Team Heimdall,"_ An accented voice came in over the intercom, "_Don't think you can have all the fun without me."_

"And why would that be, Top Ramen?" Heimdall-2 quipped, using the nickname of the Gundam pilot.

Sanjaya Rahjaman smirked in his cockpit. "_Simple, my friends. You have lasers and guns, but I also have a shield and sword. I am like one of the Rajput of my homeland." _

"Yeah, yeah. Don't rub it in. At least it will take more than one shot to take us out."

_"Orbital deployment in 3... 2... 1..."_

CH-CHUNK CH-CHUNK!

The mechs were shot down to the planet below...

X)(X)(X

"_Hostiles incoming!" _Matt announced.

**_"No shit,_ Shepard!**" Jack swore, throwing a singularity,**_ "There's fucking hostiles_ everywhere!"**

"Quit the chatter! Take out the Nob!" Chief emphasised that statement with a burst of fire into an Ork's face.

Shepard's team, alongside Chief, the Elements and the amigos, were right in the middle of the battlefield. Now, the bulk of Halo and ME soldiers would've prefered to shoot them from afar, avoiding close combat. The Imperials, however, told them that the best way to beat the Orks was to attack first and close-up. If anything, it kept them from having the momentum of a WAAAGH! charge.

At least there was enough space between them to allow for reloading. The Marines made sure of that.

Jack and Samara kept the greenskins at bay, launching singularities and pulls left and right, keeping them busy long enough for Thane and Twilight to give a headshot (Twi was apparently a natural at the rifle). Trixie, Shepard and Chief experts of the machine gun, used their speed, training or magic pick apart and slay the monstrous foes. N'tho played it quiet, staying invisible until he was behind an unsuspecting xeno, and either quickly decapitating them in one swipe of the sword, or slicing their knees and letting Vasquez put a shotgun in their mouths.

And that left the team of Longinus, AJ, Cassius and Pinkie to keep much of the horde at bay. And that was _exactly _what they did.

"This is for Bloomberg, you sons of bitches!" Applejack shouted, barely being heard as her guns went _dakkadakkadakka, _the axe-wielding barbarians into red-and-green shreds. They would pay for destroying the orchards her family had worked so hard to grow, right down to the last tree. "I'm gonna send y'all to the fires of Tartarus! Ah hear its nice this time o' year!"

At the same time, Cassius and Longinus were back to back, taking out as many talking mushrooms as possible. The Brute would shoot them up with a Spiker gun or a Plasma rifle, while the Ultramarine would do the same with his lasgun and power sword.

"Tell me, xeno," Longinus asked Cassius, keeping his eyes on the enemy, "Were you the one to give Fluttershy that blade?"

"Yeah." The Jiralhanae answered, slashing the Spiker blade across a green throat. "I talked with the salarian guy over at the medbay, and asked him if he could do a miniblade for the ponies. He said yes, and gave Fluttershy the first one."

"Wonderful." The Astartes responded, shooting concentrated light at an opponent's belly. "That's one less thing to worry about."

"Huh. If it weren't for the fact that your people hate xenos," Cassius quipped, "I'd say that you've grown attached to the little pony."

"You know, xeno, you may not be wrong there." The Marine stabbed his sword into an Ork's junk, and went up from there. "The Codex Astartes is very specific about hating all aliens. However, if the Emperor has deemed these creatures worthy of His mercy and care, than so shall I."  
"Yeah, she's a cute one." The alien slashed a bladed gun through a green neck. "She may seem to be meek and harmless, but I bet you that she is _plenty_ capable of giving a beatdown."

And _then _there was Pinkie...

"Hey, green guy," She said to a gretchin, pointing at him, "What's that on your shirt?"

When the tiny Ork looked down, the mare swung the chainsword around, and cut him two clean halves.

"Made ya look!" She giggled, and moved to the next guy. _Gosh, _She thought to herself, _I'm **really **good at cutting these guys up. And its almost like I enjoy doing this, but why? This isn't very nice, not like a sunday sarsaparilla, with cherries and sugar and sugary goodness. Maybe I should talk to Twilight after this, have her check my head. In the meantime, I have a pretty plasma grenade with that Nob's name on it._

She tossed a glowing blue grenade at the Ork, which landed right on his head. Two nearby gretchins stopped and pointed at him. "Oi, Boss," They said, "Dere be a glowy blue thing on yer head!"

"Wot? Is it a spoider?! Git it o-"

_BOOM!_

Pinkie cackled at the exploding head, and went back to hacking and slashing...

_X)(X)(X_

The machines landed just west of the town, about half a klick away from the Ork Titans. The handful of Gargants could see three small, clunky walkers along with a flying, frail-looking machine with a shield and a shoota. Many Orks piloting the giant robots laughed at pathetic those gits looked... until 4 Gargaunts simultaneously exploded from laser and Gauss fire.

"OI!" One of the captains in the machines shouted, ""DEY KILLED KID KNEE! DEM BASTARDS!" The other robots then raised their weapons, and proceeded to blast them. The mechs turned on their shields while the gundam flew overhead. The group continued shooting while the flier kept sniping center of mass with his gun.

The Gargaunts, which had been feared the galaxy over for their power and ferocity, were taken out one by one like a collection of bowling pins. The Fafnirs had lasers capable of destroying mountains, and blasted through the legs and shields like a bullet through an apple. The AGE had a rifle capable of blasting through a bunker for 20 miles away, and its explosive rounds caused extensive damage to the titans. In short, the Orks were getting smashed.

But that's not to say that the Orks weren't capable of fighting back. On the contrary, they were equally kicking the human's asses back. The shields were being whittled down, eventually giving out completely. Heimdall-5 was the first to fall, a lucky shot piercing right through the chest and the pilot inside. It crumpled forward, crashing down with a resounding THUNK!

_"Shit!_" The commander swore. "_Concentrate fire on the bastards with the biggest guns!"_ Kind of a dumb order, since they _all _have big guns. Heimdall-2 went shortly after, his legs shot out underneath him. He too fell, but at least the pilot was still alive, so long as he didn't draw attention to himself. Seeing another one of the mechs down, the Gargaunts charge the remaining robot, ignoring their fallen comrades as they stomped on ruined machinery all around them. Heimdall Actual began to backpedal, firing at the advancing robots. But it didn't do him any good, as one Ork titan swung a massive chainsaw arm down at the mech, and cut the Fafnir in half, causing it to explode, taking the Gargaunt with it.

Rahjaman saw this, and having run out of ammo, tossed his gundam's gun at the Ork footsoldiers- crushing them- as he pulled out his robot's energy sword. Unlike the Sanghelli, who use a two-pronged blade, the UNSC used a single long blade design, much like a katana of the samurai age. With a sword on one hand, and a shield in another, he launched himself at the remaining 5 titans._ Let us see how these **Harijans** like a taste of Shiva's Wrath_. He thought smugly as he tore into the tin-plated machines.

He smacked the edge of the shield at the head of the machine, using his speed and momentum to decapitate and and send it toppling down. He blocks the shot of another mech, and then cuts it down with a sword half as long as his own gundam. The resulting explosion sent him airborne, but the thrusters on his feet kept upright... up until he hit the chainsaw arm of the largest Gargaunt. The whirring blade took his legs at the knees, and the gundam landed flat on his back behind the titan.

The Ork machine turned around menacingly, its red eyes glowing balefully with unrestrained malice. Its engine roared as it raised its blade for a killing blow. "Oh, this will not be pleasant." Rahjaman stated, waiting for the chainsaw to come down.

**_THOOM!_**

A blast of yellow-white energy shot at the titan. Rather than simply exploding, it disintegrated into a large cloud of white-hot ash, blowing away in the wind.

Rahjaman moved the head up, and saw Celestia, her hammer pointing to where the machine was, smoke coming off the top. Holstering it over her back, she cantered over to the fallen gundam, tapping on it. "Pilot," She asked with concern, "Are you alive in there?"

"Yes, ma'am." He thumped back. "Thank you for the save."

"We've secured the western flank." She told him. "Our base is a few miles from here, and we're keeping the Orks at bay. Tread carefully- there's a bunch of squigs running about here."  
"But Princess, what of the other titans?"  
"What other titans? You and your comrades killed them all."

Indeed, in a somewhat pyrrhic victory, it had taken three Fafnirs and the only gundam of the UNSC to take out over half all the Gargaunts that the Orks had brought with them- and all the ones that were in Appleoosa. Through their sacrifices, the road had been cleared to take the battle into the town, and kick the green bastards out of the desert, and back into space.

* * *

_Once the titans were broken, the Orks made the choice to withdraw back into town- everyone knows that last stands are where the real action is. The makeshift fortifications were doing a surprisingly good job of holding off the taskforce. In fact, it took an entire day of bombardment and divine blasts to create an opening large enough for Imperial tanks to get through._

_The battle became a long and arduous urban conflict, especially after Celestia returned to Canterlot. The UNSC and CAR lost many of their vehicles, while the Guard were still considered the meat shield of the coalition. But after another two whole days, the allies had almost pushed the greenskins out of the town... only to find that most of the townsponies were still running around town for their lives._

_Thus, soldiers in Appleoosa had two tasks now; killing Orks, and rescuing any survivors they find..._

* * *

_+ Day 7  
__Appleoosan Warzone  
__2:30 P.M._

Braeburn was running for his life, looking for any sign of ponies or humans in the ruins of his hometown. He kept his body low, and ran from building to building to avoid detection from the giant green bastards that came from the stars.

They came here no more than a week ago, and they had taken everything he knew to Tartarus. The apple orchards of his family, burnt down. His family and friends, dead or eaten. His home, first turned into a fortress, and now a burned out husk of its former self. The horribly traumatized stallion would've offed himself long ago, were it not for the buffalo girl following him every step of the way.

"Braeburn," Little Strongheart said, trying to catch her breath from all the running, "Where are the soldiers? We've been running for days, and we haven't seen a single one."

"They're out there," The stallion reassured her, scanning the horizon, "We're almost at the edge of town. They must be 'round here, maybe even over the next block."

"How do you know?" She replied, her voice coming out as a whimper. "We've been running around for a week, and haven't seen or heard anything but those damn monsters. They've killed everypony; the sheriff, your cousin Apple Cobbler, even... eve..." Her eyes welled up, thinking of what they did to her father, Chief Thunderhooves.

It had been a long stretch of crazy weeks for the two young leaders. After the "First" Battle of Appleoosa, the two unofficial leaders of town would meet up regularly to discuss issues concerning both races. However, after Discord's short reign, the two of them decided to meet more often, in a more "casual" manner. Words were exchanged, moments were shared, and the next thing they knew, they were going on dates as the first ever pony-buffalo couple. They had even had her father's blessing on the whole deal.

But then the starships came. Followed by humans and aliens and their bases. And then rocks fell out of the sky, and these giant green monsters took a collective shit on their lives.

After the Orks landed, the Chief and the sheriff organized a quick militia to fight back. Naturally, they didn't last long. The last either of them saw of her father, his skull was on a necklace of a Nob, blithering on about how buffalo and ponies alike were even worse fighters than humans.

She looked like she was about to break down and cry right there, even as Orks could be looking for them outside. Before she could do so, the stallion wrapped her in a comforting hug, and kissed her. "Strongheart," He chided, nuzzling her, "You ah love you, right?"

She looked into his green eyes, and whispered, "Yes."

"And you know... you know that when ah make a promise, ah keep it, right?"

Strongheart, feeling the gentle yet firm embrace of this colt, looking into the green eyes of somepony who had gone through just as much hell as she had, said just a bit louder, "Yes."

"Ah promise you, here and now, that we are gettin' out of this town. We are goin' ta make it to our side, and we'll survive this. And ah promise you that we'll get married, and have children, and never have to worry about Orks ever again." He smiled reassuringly, wiping away a stray tear from her face. "All we have to do is reach the next corner, and take it one step at a time. Can you do that fer me?"

She glanced to the building down the street, and back to Braeburn. Somehow, it didn't look as far away as it was a minute ago. "You bet." She told him, her confidence coming back to her.

"That's my girl." Releasing her, the farmer looked down both ends of the street, and after seeing that they were clear, trotted across to the next building. Strongheart hesitated for the briefest of moments, and then followed suit.

Explosions filled the air as they ran across the street- signs that the Alliance were still pushing deep into the town. Airships passed overhead, shooting missiles and laser shots at the remaining Ork holdouts. But the survivors managed to reach the decrepit-looking saloon without a scratch.

Little did they know that the place was already occupied.

"Freeze!" A voice shouted in the darkness, a gun raising into position. "Identify yourselves!"

Braeburn jumped from the shock, but was relieved at the same time. Orks never spoke before killing- at least, not more than "OI, FOUND YA!" "I'm Braeburn and this is Strongheart," The stallion answered, "We're survivors here in town. Who're you?"

The man stepped out of the shadow, wearing a black and gray suit with a Claymore shotgun. His skin was dark, a good shade darker than most humans the cowpony had seen. "Jacob Taylor, Cerberus Agent." The man answered. "Its a good thing I found you guys. I had made my way back to base after I got separated from my squad. This place is scheduled to be leveled in about five minutes."

"That's just fine." The buffalo snorted, "I hope they blast every one of those bastards back to hell."

"How far away is the base?" Braeburn asked, being more pragmatic.

"About two klicks out from here. If we hurry, we should be out of the blast zone once we reach the edge of town. Come on."

The man gestured with his gun urging them to follow him as he began heading out the back. The pony and buffalo quickly followed suit, letting the human soldier lead them back to friendly territory. They had to zig-zag through the streets, looking to avoid the heaviest levels of fighting. When a Leman Russ was duking it out with a Squiggoth, they took a turn into a large alley, between the farthest two buildings from town.

"WELL WELL WELL, WOT 'AVE WE 'ERE?" A voice boomed one of the ruined buildings. "A WALKIN' TURD, A 'ONIE, AND A HUMIE!" A massive green Ork stepped out of the shack next to them, his body covered in scars, his left arm replaced with a giant metal claw. He wore a rather ramshackle armor outfit, and around his neck was a chain, which held a buffalo skull at the bottom.

"AN' HE'S A BLACK ONE!" The Nob continued gleefully, "I NEVAH SEEN ONE O' TOSE! WONDER IF YOU KIN PUT UP A PROPAH FIGHT, UNLIKE TE REST OF YA GITS!" He drew a massive Slasha blade, a pillar of metal almost as big as he was. "I TINK ME DECAPITATOR WANTS A LIL TASTE O' YOR BLOOD!"

Jacobs stepped in front of the lovers, and loaded a shell into the shotgun. "If you want a taste of us, you'll have to go through me first. And I don't die easy." Behind him, Strongheart and Braeburn stood at the ready, determined to help their savior. Although they didn't have guns or knives, there was plenty of rubble around, and they were great shots with bucking.

"OOH, YOUSE GOT SOM' FOIGHT IN YA! ME LIKEY!" The Ork swung his blade at the trio, smashing into the ground as they dodged for cover. Jacobs rolled and took a shot at his knee, while Braburn and Strongheart bucked whatever pieces of rock and wood at his face. The Nob took little notice of his knee injury, and swatted the Cerberus soldier into a wall. The Ork turned his attention to the two kickers, and even as a floorboard chipped one of his teeth, he smiled.

"OI, I REMEMBER YOUSE!" He gloated. "YOR TOSE PUNY PONNIES DAT TURD WARBOSS WAS PROTECTIN'! YOU MAY NOT KNO DIS, BUT HE DIED CRYIN' LIKE A LIL GIT! I EVEN GOT TO USE HIS SKULL AS ME NECKLACE! TELL ME, DOES IT MAKE ME LOOK PURDY?"

He moved to stomp on them, crushing them with his size 40 boot. Jacobs, however, had stood back up, and used a biotic Pull on the same damaged knee. The Nob stumbled and fell, almost crashing on the swiftly dodging Appleoosans.

"Get outta here!" He shouted, scrambling to grab his gun, "You're almost at the FOB. You guys can make it!"  
"What about you?" Braeburn demanded.  
"I've got this bastard covered." He lied, loading another shot into his gun. "You go on, I'll be right behind you."

Jacobs knew better, though. His shotgun was badly damaged, and on its last three shots. He could feel his ribs had been broken, and his ankle had been twisted in the worst possible way. Medi-gel could do a lot of things, but it couldn't fix bones. Outside of his biotics, he knew he had no real way of fighting this behemoth.

But he wasn't going to let him win, either.

Braeburn could see that in his eyes, that he knew he was a goner, and was sacrificing himself so that they could escape. He also knew this was their best chance to get away before the Ork got up. Without a second thought, he grabbed Strongheart, and twisted her onto his back. "Come on," He said, galloping back out the street, "Let's get out of here!"

"But what about him?" She gasped, looking back as the Ork started to get back up.  
"Don't worry about them!" He snapped fearfully, " We've got to go, go, go!" He galloped as fast as he could, past the tanks and cars and explosions, away from the fight and closer to safety.

"YOUSE GONNA REGRET DAT!" The Ork snarled, drawing up his sword again.

"Bring it, bitch." Jacobs barked, firing three shots at the beast. The sword, for its part, was big enough to block each shot, but was now riddled with holes and dents. The greenskin looked at his now ruined choppa, and bellowed, "YE STUPID BASTID! I MADE DIS FO' ME BIRFDAY!" He threw the pillar of metal at the man like it was a knife, managing to cut Jacobs' arm before sticking itself into a wall.

He tried to limp away, but the Nob quickly caught up with him. Taylor barely had enough time to manifest a barrier before the Ork swatted through it with the robotic arm. The arm was dented, and sparks were now coming off it, but it was still functional.

"HA, SO YER A PSYSKERS," The Ork chortled, "I FOUGHT WEIRDBOYZ LIKE YOU ON CALEDONIS. DEY PUT A PROPAH FIGHT. YOU? I'VE FOUGHT SQUIGS DAT PUT UP A BETTAH FIGHT DEN YOU!"

Jacobs, now lying battered and broken on the floor, gathered up much energy left in him to use a Pull on the robot arm. Clearly it wasn't attached very well, for it came right off at the shoulder, landing with a loud CLUNK!

Again, the Ork looked at the injury, and ignored it as a minor inconvenience. "HERE'S DA TING 'BOUT US ORKS!" The Nob spoke, slowly stepping to the fallen soldier with the utmost confidence, "YOU KEN BREAK OUR WEAPONZ, TAKE OFF OUR ARMS AND LEGS, BUT WE STILL GONNA KRUMP YA RIGHT PROPAH! WHY? 'CAUSE WEZ DA ORKS, AND ITS **WOT WE DO**!"

He grabbed the human by the neck, and lifted him close to his ugly, smelly face. "LOOK AT YOU." The Orks sneered, "YUH PUNY LIL GIT! YUR NOTHIN' TA ME! YUR ENTIRE RACE _IS NOTHIN' _TA ME! **_EV'RY CRECHAH ON DIS ROCK IS NOTHIN' TA__ ME_**!"

Amazingly, the human chuckled, his voice wet with his own blood. The Nob raised an eyebrow. Why was this human laughing at the moment of his proper krumpin? He didn't see the hand reaching to his belt, grabbing a small blue ball.

"That's were you're wrong, butt-munch." He coughed, blood leaking from his mouth. "You're just a talking mushroom, a fungus that can talk big and pull a trigger. You think you know about fighting, but you don't know a damn thing about being a warrior, about fighting for a purpose. You fight for fun, while we fight to save our family, our friends, our civilization, things you couldn't possibly understand. You're an ugly ass monster out of a fairy-tale, but I AM A MAN!" With that, he pressed the button, igniting the plasma grenade, and punched it into the Ork's big red eye.

**_KA-BOOM!_**

* * *

_By the next day, the town of Appleoosa had been taken back. Although it was a burnt out husk of its former beauty, the Orks had opted instead to redeploy back to Manehattan- the fighting was better there anyway. With the town resecured, the majority of the taskforce was also sent to the metropolis, along with the "Heroes of the Alliance"._

_Braeburn and Strongheart both made it back to the FOB as the airstrike leveled that section of town. Although he knew he had done as Jacobs had wanted him to do, the stallion couldn't help but feel that he failed in helping to protect his family and his world. So, after talking with his now engaged girlfriend and cousins, Braeburn decided to join the Equestrian PDF, eager to prove himself worthy for both Thunderhooves' and Jacobs' sacrifices. Strongheart would stay with the remnants of her tribe, standing in as the last vestige of leadership her people had._

_Sanjaya__ Rahjaman and Heimdall-2, being the only survivors from the Mech Battle, were recovered safely, and sent back to the **Road **to wait for their robots to be repaired. The machines were fixed within the next few weeks, but by that time, it was a moot point._

_The point, in truth, was that the First Battle of Equestria was an Allied Victory, securing the southern flank from any invasion. But what most ponies and people didn't know was that the biggest threat to the world wasn't in a coastal city, a desolate desert or among the stars, but deep within the Everfree Forest..._

* * *

Deep in the Heart of Darkness (as some humans had dubbed the Everfree), there was an old and ruined castle, which used to be a summer home for the alicorn sisters. About three years ago, it was when the Elements of Harmony were rediscovered, and Princess Luna was exorcised of the daemon Nightmare Moon. The place was made derelict long ago, and it would've remained so for far longer... had fate not intervened.

At the stroke of midnight, a strange ball of pulsating light appeared in the center of the main hall. This light grew in shape and size, until it was the size of a large gate. From then, it glowed a bluish-white, as a long train of tall armored individuals led a group of hooded figures behind them. The armored strangers had tall pointed helmets with a ponytail at the end, and had strange, organic weapons in their hands. They gave the aura of hatred and hunger, as if they desired nothing more than for all living creatures to wither and die beneath them.

The tallest one of them, the leader, made a snarling sound beneath his mask. "What a disgusting place." The alien growled. "Its much too happy for its own good."

"Yes, Archon." A robed figure replied, much shorter than the raiders around him, his robe covered in strange sigils that hurt the eyes of those that looked upon it. "This place is a great blasphemy and offense to the Gods. That is why both Eliphas and Asdrubael Vect instructed us to come here; it is the will of the Ruinous Powers to call their champions, and bring a Black Crusade upon this world."

"You just stay out of our way, Caiasan," The Kabalite hissed to the Sorcerer, pulling out a Demikliave, "And let us show you why the galaxy fears the tender mercies of the Dark Eldar..."

* * *

**A/N2: **Good God, this took forever to write. And it wasn't just because it was really long.

Over the past two months, I've been dealing with getting my old job back, finals for college, getting a girlfriend, _and _applying for a second job. Combine that with starting work on this chapter the first week into the month instead of two weeks before, and you've got a recipe for disaster.

But fortunately, I've got a little help from some kickass guys. As of now, I have an editor (Link01742) and a co-writer (Onefish_twofish), who have taken some of the burden off of me. And although my hours always seem to be in a state of flux, with school done, I can focus my attention back on writing, and keep up a somewhat constant rate of production.

So, have an excellent summer, guys. McKnight out.


End file.
